Veterinry World, EISSN: 2231-0916 Aville t www.veterinryworld.org/vol.7/mrch-2014/3.pdf RESEARCH ARTICLE Open Access Prevlence nd sesonl undnce of ticks on dogs nd the role of Rhipicephlus snguineus in trnsmitting Besi species in Midugiri, North-Estern Nigeri doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2014.119-124 How to cite this rticle: Konto M, Biu AA, Ahmed MI nd Chrles S (2014) Prevlence nd sesonl undnce of ticks on dogs nd the role of Rhipicephlus snguineus in trnsmitting Besi species in Midugiri, North-Estern Nigeri, Veterinry World 7(3): 119-124 Introduction 1 1 1 2 M. Konto, A. A. Biu, M. I. Ahmed nd S. Chrles 1. Deprtment of Veterinry Microiology nd Prsitology, Fculty of Veterinry Medicine, University of Miduguri, PMB 1069 Miduguri, Borno Stte, Nigeri; 2. Deprtment of Veterinry Pulic Helth nd Preventive Medicine, Fculty of Veterinry Medicine, University of Miduguri, P.M.B.1069, Miduguri, Borno Stte, Nigeri. Corresponding uthor: M. Konto, emil: kontomohmmed@yhoo.com Received: 11-12-2013, Revised: 24-01-2014, Accepted: 30-01-2014, Pulished online: 04-03-2014 Astrct Aim: An investigtion on ticks nd hemoprsites of dogs tht elonged to Miduguri metropolis (Borno Stte) ws conducted. Mterils nd Methods: Survey of ticks nd hemo-prsites on 400 stry dogs ws conducted in Miduguri from Decemer 2009 to Novemer 2011, using strtified rndom smpling technique from different loctions of the town. The town ws divided into 10 districts out of which totl of 40 dogs were smpled t rndom from ech district. Results: Four gener of ticks were identified on the infested dogs 384 (96.0), ll of which elonged to the fmily Ixodide (hrd ticks). The genus Boophilus ws predominnt with prevlence of 88.0%, Rhipicephlus 10.8%, Hylomm 0.9% nd Amlyomm 0.3% t (p? 0.05). Dogs within the ge-group of 6-12 months were the most infested, while those within the gegroup of 24 120 months were the lest infested. Sex ppered to hve less significnt influence (p > 0.05) on the prevlence of ticks mong the dog popultion s femles were more infested thn the mles. The perineum nd the er were the most commonly infested res, with 328 (85.4%) nd 252 (65.4%) respectively, while the scrotl nd dominl regions were the lest infested res 12 (3.1%) ech. The month of August showed the highest men tick urden of 462.5±3.2 rnging from 450-475, while the month of Ferury showed the lest numer of ticks with men of 244.5±3.8 rnging from 239-250. Dogs found to e infected with Besi cnis re ll hroring ticks of the genus Rhipicephlus. Femle dogs were more infected (66.7%) with Besi cnis thn their mle counterprts (33.3%) (p? 0.05) nd dogs within the ge group of 1-6 months were more infected. Conclusion: Prevlence of ticks on dogs in this study re is reltively high nd the occurrence of Besi species is vector dependent, with ticks of the genus Rhipicephlus snguineous eing the most common vector in trnsmission of the prsite. Sesons lso ply vitl role in the prevlence of ticks nd their ssocited hemoprsites. Keywords: prevlence, distriution, sesonl undnce, ticks, Besi cnis, dogs, Borno, Nigeri. Copyright: The uthors. This rticle is n open ccess rticle licensed under the terms of the Cretive Commons Attriution License (http://cretivecommons.org/licenses/y/2.0) which permits unrestricted use, distriution nd reproduction in ny medium, provided the work is properly cited. Ticks, regrded s the lrgest non-microscopic ectoprsites, re the most importnt vectors tht infest nimls, trnsmit wide rnge of pthogens from infected to non-infected hosts. Ticks of the fmily Ixodide re considered s verterte's vectors nd they constitute the lrgest tick gener with out 235 different species descried worldwide [1]. Rhipicephlus snguineus, lso known s the rown dog tick is the most cosmopolitn specie mong the fmilies, trnsmi- tting wide rnge of pthogens to dogs nd other nimls, including humns [2-5]. Tick-orne hemoprsites re one of the most importnt vector-orne infections of dogs. They re numerous nd re cused y severl etiologicl gents such s cteril, protozon, nd rickettsil orgnisms [6]. They re cosmopolitn in distriution, ut re most numerous nd exert their gretest impcts in the tropics nd sutropics [7-9]. Tick-orne hemopthogens such s Besi, Ehrlichi, Anplsm, Borreli nd Heptozoon re of mjor helth concern to dogs nd cuse severe economic dmge to dog owners, some of which re of zoonotic significnce [1,10-12]. Dog keeping hit in Borno Stte is minly for hunting nd herding, to miniml extent, for security purposes; in which most of them were owned ut, not confined. This lck of confinement exposes them to vriety of hzrds nd infections which include prsites nd their vectors [12]; t the sme time serving s reservoirs for trnsmission of infections to non-infected ones nd the nimls they herd. Miduguri, locted in the Shel region of Nigeri, is endowed with fvorle climte suitle for the prolifertion of ticks nd tick-orne prsites. Thus, this reserch focuses on the common ticks nd tick-orne hemoprsites, their distriution sed on predilection sites nd sesonl undnce mong dog popultion in the study re. Mterils nd Methods Ethicl pprovl: All procedures were performed with the pprovl of the Animl Ethics Committee of the University of Miduguri, Nigeri. Veterinry World, EISSN: 2231-0916 119
Aville t www.veterinryworld.org/vol.7/mrch-2014/3.pdf Study re: Borno Stte with Miduguri s its cpitl Collection of ticks: A totl of 400 dogs were physiclly N city lies pproximtely etween ltitude 10.20 nd exmined for ticks; ticks present were detched using N E E 13.40, nd longitude 9.80 nd 14.40. Miduguri town forceps or hnd picking. The collection procedure ws N N lies round ltitude 11.300 nd 11.450 nd longitude crefully performed to void destroying the mouth- E 13.50. Borno Stte hs n re of 69,436sqkm nd it is prts nd the ticks were preserved in 2% formlin for the lrgest Stte in the Federtion in terms of geogrphicl further identifiction [14]. re. Locted in the north-estern corner of Identifiction of ticks: Ticks collected from individul Nigeri, the Stte occupies the gretest prt of the Chd dogs were trnsferred into petri dishes nd exmined sin nd shres order with the Repulic of Niger to under dissecting microscope, nd identified using the the North, Chd to the North-est nd Cmeroon to the clssifiction keys of [15,16]; nd txonomic chrcteest. Within the country, its neighors re Admw to ristics s descried erlier [17]. the South, Yoe to the West nd Gome to the Southwest [13]. The Stte hs climte which is hot Hemtologicl exmintion: Blood smples were nd dry for greter prt of the yer in the northern nd collected directly from the er veins using heprinized centrl prts, while the southern prt is slightly milder. micro-hemtocrit cpillry tues nd then centrifuged The period of wet seson vries from plce to plce due (1200 x g, 5', nd room temperture). The PCV's were to the influence of the vrious climtic fctors such s determined y hemtocrit reder nd the color of the the direction of the rin ering winds nd topogrphy, plsm ws simultneously checked nd recorded. The ut generlly, the riny seson is normlly from July to cpillry tues were then cut using dimond pencil 1 Septemer in the north, up to erly Octoer in the south mm elow the uffy cot nd the contents of the with reltive humidity of out 49% nd evportion cpillry tue were trnsferred onto clen glss slides, of 203mm per yer. The Stte hs two mjor vegettion mixed nd covered with cover slip. Thin smers were zones viz: Shel in the North nd Sudn Svnnh in prepred directly from the er vein nd lso from the the South [13]. uffy cot nd fixed with methnol nd stined with Giems. Both the wet nd stined smers were exmined Smpling methods: Survey of ticks nd hemo- for the presence of hemoprsites s descried erlier prsites on 400 stry dogs ws conducted in Miduguri [15]. from Decemer 2009 to Novemer 2011, using Sttisticl nlysis: strtified rndom smpling technique from different Dt collected were sujected to loctions of the town. The town ws divided into 10 student's t-test nd ctegoricl dt like ge group were districts out of which totl of 40 dogs were smpled t sujected to one-wy nlysis of vrince (ANOVA) t rndom from ech district. Ech su-popultion p < 0.05 regrded s sttisticlly significnt [18]. (district) ws divided into different strt sed on ge Microsoft excel ws used for presenttion of the results. nd gender. Results Selection criteri: inclusion criteri 1) dog must e stry dog or unconfined, 2) must e pprently helthy, 3) no recent tretment ginst hemoprsites. The results of this investigtion reveled tht totl of 4,216 ticks were collected from the dogs exmined nd tht Boophilus species (fig.1) were Veterinry World, EISSN: 2231-0916 120
Aville t www.veterinryworld.org/vol.7/mrch-2014/3.pdf Tle-1. Prevlence of tick species infesting dogs in Miduguri. Tick gener identified No. (%) Collected Boophilus spp. 3712 (88.0) Rhipicephlus snguineus 456 (10.8) c Hylomm spp. 36 (0.9) d Amlyomm vriegtum 12(0.3) Totl 4216 Vlues with different superscripts re sttisticlly significnt (p<0.05). Tle-2. Prevlence of ticks infesting dogs sed on ge nd sex of dogs. Prmeters No. of dogs exmined No. (%) infested No. (%) infested with Boophilus Rhipicephlus Hylomm Amlyomm Overll 400 384(96.0) 319(83.1) 78(20.3) 16(4.2) 4(1.0) Age (months)1 6 213 208(97.7) 164(78.8) 39(18.8) 12(5.8) 4(1.9) 6 12 146 144(98.6) 123(85.4) 27(18.7) 4(2.8) - 24-120 41 32(78.0) 32(100) 12(37.5) - - Sex Mle 146 132(90.4) 112(84.8) 39(29.5) 8(6.1) - Femle 254 252 (99.2) 207(82.1) 39(15.5) 8(3.2) 4(1.6) Vlues with similr superscripts re not sttisticlly significnt (p>0.05). Tle-3. Distriution of ticks sed on predilection sites exmined. Predilection sites No. (%) of dogs infested No. (%) of ticks collected Men ± SD (rnge) confidence limit (n = 384) (n = 4216) of ticks collected Adominl region 12 (3.1) 52(1.2) 4.30± 3.20 (1-8) (4.22, 4.38) Er 252 (65.6) 1068(25.3) 4.20± 1.80 (2-11) (4.15, 4.25) Fcil region 24 (6.3) c 120(2.8) 2.40± 1.20 (2-10) (2.37, 2.43) Inguinl region 124 (32.3) d 448(10.6) 3.70± 1.90 (2-9) (3.65, 3.75) Interdigitl spce 40 (10.4) e 160(3.80) 4.00± 3.70 (1-5) (3.91, 4.09) Perineum 328 (85.4) f 1416(33.6) 4.20± 1.80 (2-13) (4.15, 4.25) Scrotl region 12 (3.1) 52(1.2) 4.30± 2.30 (2-5) (4.24, 4.36) Thigh 28 (7.3) h 76(1.8) 2.70±1.10 (1-3) (2.67, 2.73) Thorcic region 144 (37.5) i 512(12.1) 3.00±1.10 (1-3) (2.97, 3.03) Mmmry region 80 (20.8) j 312(7.4) 3.90±1.60 (1-3) (3.86, 3.94) Vlues with different superscripts re sttisticlly significnt (p<0.05). Figure-1. A. Boophilus. spp. B. Rhipicephlus snguineus, C. Hylomm spp., D. Amlyomm vriegtum most prevlent 3712 (88.0%) compred with Rhipice- The months of August nd Septemer (riny phlus (fig.1) 456 (10.8%), Hylomm (fig.1c) 36 seson) hd the highest men ± SD tick vlues of (0.9%) nd Amlyomm (fig.1d)12 (0.3%) (Tle-1). 462.5±3.2 (450-475) nd 468.5±3.1 (458-471) respe- Out of the 400 dogs exmined, 384 (96.0%) were ctively (p>0.05), while the dry months of Jnury infested, dogs within 6-12 months of ge were more through My hd lowest men ± SD tick distriution infested (98.6%) compred to those of 1-6 months nd (Tle-4). 24-120 months ge which hd 97.7% nd 78.0%, The ges of 1-6 months hd the highest B. cnis respectively (p >0.05) (Tle-2). (fig.2 nd3) infection rte of 28 (58.3%) while 6-12 nd The distriution of ticks sed on the predilection 24-120 months hd 6 (12.5%) nd 14 (29.2%), respectisites showed tht the perineum nd ers were the most vely. Femle dogs were more infected 32 (66.7%) thn preferred sites with prevlence of 328 (85.4%) nd the mle dogs 16 (33.3%)(Tle-5). It is importnt to 252 (65.6%), respectively, while the scrotl nd note tht, in ll evluted cses the prsites were dominl region hd the lest with 12 (3.1%) ech found on Rhipicephlus snguineus infested dogs. (Tle-3). Veterinry World, EISSN: 2231-0916 121
Aville t www.veterinryworld.org/vol.7/mrch-2014/3.pdf Tle-4. Cumultive monthly distriution of tick infesttion on dogs in Miduguri. Month Numer (%) of ticks collected (n = 4216) Men ± SD confidence limit Decemer 370(8.8) 360±3.1 (350-370) (359.9, 360) Jnury 270(6.4) 368.5±3.4 (367-370) (367.9, 368.1) Ferury 250(5.9) c 244.5± 3.8 (239-250) (244.4, 244.6) Mrch 272(6.5) d 261±4.7 (250-272) (260.9, 261.1) April 290(6.9) e 285±5.9 (280-290) (284.9, 285.2) My 310(7.4) f 305.5±3.2 (301-310) (305.4, 305.6) June 358(8.5) g 353.5±3.8 (349-358) (353.4, 353.6) July 350(8.3) h 332.5±3.4 (315-350) (332.4, 332.6) August 475(11.3) I 462.5±3.2 (450-475) (462.4, 462.6) Septemer 471(11.2) j 468.5±3.1 (458-471) (468.4, 468.8) Octoer 410(9.7) k 412.5±5.0 (410-415) (412.4, 412.6) Novemer 390(9.3) l 400±4.2 (390-410) (399.9, 400.1) Vlues with different superscripts re sttisticlly significnt (p<0.05). Tle-5. Prevlence of Besi cnis sed on the sex nd ge of the dogs exmined. Prmeters No. (%) of dogs infected (n = 48) p = 0.05 Age (months) 1 6 28 (58.33) 6 12 6 (12.50) p > 0.05 24-120 14 (29.17) Sex Mle 16 (33.33) Femle 32 (66.67) p > 0.05 Vlues with different superscripts re sttisticlly significnt (p<0.05). Figure-2. Photomicrogrph of Giems's stin thin lood smer showing red lood cell infected with B. cnis (rrow) ppering s pir of pyriform shped odies with sophilic cytoplsm nd reddish chromtin (x100). Discussion The ticks collected in this study were Boophilus spp., Rhipicephlus snguineus, Hylomm spp. nd Amlyomm vriegtum, ll elonging to the fmily Ixodide re the common ticks found in Nigeri. [19-27]. With respect to sex nd ge, femle dogs were more infested thn their mle counterprts. This might e due to the fct tht femle dogs usully form sedentry hit while nursing their offspring; s result, they esily get infested y ticks. This finding lso conforms to the reports of Tnwi [21,24,25,28]. The infesttion rte ws insignificntly (p>0.05) higher in the ge-group of 6-12 month old dogs. This finding contrst to the report y Shitt et l [25] nd Jme-Rugu [29] who reported tht dult nd young (puppies) dogs were more infested y ticks thn the Figure-3. Photomicrogrph of Besi cnis infected red lood cell (rrow) showing multiple infections (x100). dolescent ones; even though, the difference s seen in this study is not significnt. The insignificnce difference in the rte of infesttion mongst sexes nd ge-group my e due to congregtion of mles nd femles during mting nd close proximity of the young niml's ody to the ground thn the dult ones. Furthermore, intimcy etween the older ones nd their offspring helps in the spred of trnsmission. The perineum ws the most infested predilection site on the dogs exmined. This shows tht preference of ticks to the vrious predilection sites could e due to ccessiility of lood vessels, difference in the thickness of the skin in the different prts of the ody, tempe- rture or vrition in microhitt [30]. The perineum nd ers hppen to e the most prevlent res infested on the dogs exmined. Veterinry World, EISSN: 2231-0916 122
Aville t www.veterinryworld.org/vol.7/mrch-2014/3.pdf Cumultive monthly distriution of ticks in this more ccurte nd comprtive result etween the two study re reveled tht infesttion ws higher during techniques. the riny seson thn during the dry seson. This might e due to vilility of vegettion cover which Authors contriutions provides fvorle environment for the ticks during AAB conceived, designed nd supervised the the riny seson, s they re noted to drop off the host to experiment; MK performed the reserch nd drfted moult nd quest on ldes of vegettion to infest hosts the mnuscript; MIA supervised, edited nd type-set tht come in contct with them during grzing or the work nd SC nlyzed the dt. All uthors red nd movement [25]. Also the optimum temperture nd pproved the finl mnuscript. high humidity my encourge high fecundity in ticks. Acknowledgements This finding is in conformity with the work of Iwul nd Okpl [19], Iwul nd Okpl [20], Jmes-Rugu, The uthors re thnkful to Prsitology Lortory, N.N. nd Jidyi, S [21], Jmes-Rugu, N.N. nd Idu, Deprtment of Veterinry Microiology nd Prsitology, Fculty of Veterinry Medicine, University of M.E [22] Biu, A.A. nd Konto, M [26], Jmes-Rugu, N.N. nd Iwul, M.O.E. [31]. Miduguri for their ssistnce during the course of the Prsitologicl exmintion of the lood smples reserch nd prtil funding. collected during the survey work reveled Besi Competing interests cnis (fig.2 nd 3) s the most common hemoprsites of dogs in the study re, which coincided with the The uthors declre tht they hve no competing interests report [32]; nd in ll evluted cses they were found References on tick infested dogs. This shows how closely relted 1. Norert, M. (2013) Future chllenges for prsitology: re the prsites with their vectors in trnsmission of Vector control nd 'One helth' in Europe. The veterinry the disese gent. Rhipicephlus snguineus is the medicinl view on CVBDS such s tick orreliosis, most importnt vector in the trnsmission of the prsite rickettsiosis nd cnine leishmnisis. Specil Issue: One World Helth - Veterinry Prsitology in the Twenty First (B. cnis) mong dogs s result of trnsovrin persi- Century24th WAAVP Conference. Vet. Prsitol. 195 (3-4): stence of B. cnis cnis, oserved in Rhipicephlus 256-271. snguineus suggesting possile impliction in 2. Jongejn, F. nd Uilenerg, G. (2004) The glol importnce trnsmission [33]. The sence of other hemopr- of ticks. Prsitol. 129 (suppl.): 3-14. sites like Ehrlichi cnis nd Anplsm pltys my e 3. Beuguet, F. nd Mrie, J.L. (2009) Emerging rthropod- orne diseses of compnion nimls in Europe. Vet. result of common usge of ntiiotics like Doxycy- Prsitol. 163: 298-305. cline in most of the veterinry clinics in the study re 4. Dnts-Torres, F. (2010) Biology nd ecology of the rown which re highly effective ginst most of these cteri. dog tick, Rhipicephlus snguineus. Prsites nd Vectors. 3:26. It my lso e likely due to the fstidious nture of the 5. Fourie, J.J., Stnneck, D., Luus, H.G., Beugnet, F., Wijnveld, M., Jongejn, F. (2013) Trnsmission of Ehrlichi cnis y prsites hving different developmentl stges Rhipicephlus snguineus ticks feeding on dogs nd on locted in different res of the ody or insensitivity of rtificil memrnes. Vet. Prsitol. 197: 595-603. the dignostic technique used in detecting the prsites. 6. Bruno, C. (2011) Tick-orne infections in dogs: An emerging infectious thret. Vet. Prsitol. 197: 294-301. Conclusion 7. Wtne, M. (2012) Min pet Arthropod-orne diseses in th Asi. 9 Meril symposium on prsitosis nd rthropod- In order of predominnce, Boophilus, Rhipice- th th orne diseses. Tokyo 6 9 Novemer 2012. Pp 18-21. phlus, Hylomm nd Amlyomm species ll elonging 8. Kmni, J., Bneth, G., Mumcuoglu, K.Y., Wziri, N.E., to the clss hrd ticks re the most prevlent ticks on Eyl, O., Guthmnn, Y., Hrrus, S. (2013) Moleculr dogs in the study re ut, the species Rhipicephlus detection nd chrcteriztion of tick-orne pthogens in snguineus is the most infective, nd tht Besi dogs nd ticks from Nigeri. PLoS Negl. Trop. Dis. 7(3): e2108. cnis is the predominnt hemoprsite of dogs in this 9. Jose de l Fuente, Ogo, N.I., Fernndez de Mir, I.G., study. Ticks preferred the perineum to other predile- Glindo, R.C., Okunjo,O.O., Inuw, H.M., Agede, ction sites. Femle dogs re more infested thn their R.I.S., Torin, A., Alongi, A., Vicente, J., nd Gortzr, C. mle counterprts, dogs within the ge group of 6-12 (2012) Moleculr identifiction of tick-orne pthogens in Nigerin ticks. Vet. Prsitol. 187(3-6): 572-577. months re more prone to infection thn other ge 10. Roertson, I.D., Irwin, P.J., Lymery, A.J. nd Thompson, groups nd the month of August hs the highest tick R.C.A. (2000) The role of compnion nimls in the urden while the month of Ferury showed the lowest emergence of prsitic disese. Int. J. Prsitol. 30: tick urden mong dogs in the study re nd the 1369 1377. hemoprsites of the genus Besi cnis is the most 11. Ptz, J.A., Grctzyk, T.K., Gell, N. nd Vittor, A.Y.(2002) Effects of environmentl chnges on emerging prsitic common tick-orne hemopthogens found in the diseses. Int. J. Prsitol. 30:1395 1405. study re. 12. Okunjo, O.O., Adeshin, O.A., Jtu, I.D. nd Ntl, A.J. Recommendtion (2013) Prevlence of Besi cnis nd Heptozoon cnis in Zri. Nigeri. Sokoto J. Vet. Sci. 11(2): 15-20. It is highly recommended tht modern moleculr 13. Borno Stte Diry (2005) Geogrphicl history of Borno Stte; By: The Ministry for Locl Government nd dignostic technique like PCR e employed to detect Chieftincy Affirs. ALGON DIARY Preliminry pges. tick-orne hemoprotozons in the re so s to give 14. Ude, S.U., Lin, A., Jorg, H. nd Anton, B. (2008) Veterinry World, EISSN: 2231-0916 123
Aville t www.veterinryworld.org/vol.7/mrch-2014/3.pdf Prsites of importnce for humn helth in Nigerin dogs: retrospective study of prsitic diseses of dogs nd cts in high prevlence nd limited knowledge of pet owners. Vet. Jlingo, North-Estern Nigeri etween 1998 nd 2008. Res. 49: 1746-6148. Sokoto Journl of Veterinry Sciences. Vol. 8(1): 46-49. 15. Soulsy, E.J.L.(1982) Helminthes, Arthropods nd 25. Shitt, K.B., Arong, G.A., Jmes-Rugu, N.N., nd Effng, th Protozo of Domesticted Animls, 7 ed, Billiere Tindll, E.O. (2011) Sesonl vrition in the undnce nd London. Pp 765-777. distriution of Ixodid Ticks on Mongrel, Alstin nd Mixed 16 Fleck, S.L. nd Moody, A.H. (1988) Dignostic techniques reeds of dogs (cnis fmiliris) in Jos, Plteu Stte northrd in medicl prsitology. 3 ed. John Wright Butterworth centrl Nigeri. World Journl of Science nd Technology, Scientific University Press, Cmridge, 135pp. 1(4):24-29. 17. Hoogstrl, H. (1956) Ticks of the Sudn U.S. Nvl 26. Biu, A.A. nd Konto, M. (2011) Survey of tick species Medicl Reserch Unit (3) Ciro, Egypt, pp1110. infesting the one humped cmel (Cmelus dromedrius) in 18. GrphPd Softwre Instt (2003) Guide to choosing nd Miduguri, Borno Stte. Centre for Reserch nd interpreting sttisticl tests. GrphPd softwre Inc. Innovtions. 3: 6-11. www.grphpd.com 5757 Oerlin Drive No.110 Sn Diego 27. Admu, N.B., Admu, J.Y. nd Slisu, L. (2012) Prevlence CA92121 USA (Instt Guide 153pp). of ecto-, endo- nd hemoprsites in slughtered dogs in 19. Iwul, M.O.E. nd Okpl, I. (1978) Studies on the Miduguri, Nigeri. Revue de Medecine Veterinire. 4 (163): ectoprsitic fun of Nigerin Livestock I: Types nd 178-182. distriution ptterns. Bull. Anim. Hlth nd Prod. Afric, 36 28. Tnwi, N.N.A. (1989) Aspects on the iology nd ecology (4):339-350. of ticks of livestock in prts of Plteu Stte. Ph.D. Thesis, 20. Iwul, M.O.E. nd Okpl, I. (1978) Studies on the Deprtment of Zoology University of Jos. ectoprsitic fun of Nigerin Livestock II: Sesonl 29. Jmes-Rugu, N.N. (2001) A study of the hemoprsites of infesttion rtes. Bull. Anim. Hlth nd Prod. Afric, 36 dogs, pigs nd cttle in Plteu Stte, Nigerin J. Sci Technol, (4):351-359. 7:20-27. 21. Jmes-Rugu, N.N. nd Jidyi, S. (2004) A survey on the 30. Morel, P. (1989) Ticks identifiction using keys. Mnul for ectoprsites of some livestock from some res of Borno Tropicl Vet. Prsitol. 9: 301-463pp. nd Yoe Sttes. Nigerin. Vet. J. 25(2): 48-55 31. Jmes-Rugu, N.N. nd Iwul, M.O.E. (1992) Sesonl 22. Jmes-Rugu, N.N. nd Idu, M.E. (2008) Ectoprsites of undnce in Ixodid ticks from some livestock in Plteu some domestic nimls in Mkurdi Metropolis, Benue Stte, Stte. Technology nd Development Journl. 2(1):61-67. Nigeri. J. Pest, Dis. Vect. Mgt, 8:471-477. 32. Biu, A.A. nd Philip, S.J. (2004) Besiosis mongst 23. My, A.W., Aliyu, M.M., Nwosu, C.O., Irhim, U.I., nd Mongrels in Borno Stte, Nigeri. Journl of life nd Shllnguw, J.M. (2008) A Ten-Yer Retrospective Study environmentl sciences. 6(1): 1-5. of the Prevlence of Prsitic Infections of Dogs t the 33. Chuvin, A., Moreu, E., Bonnet, S., Plntrd, O. nd University of Miduguri Veterinry Teching Hospitl, Mlndrin, L. (2009) Besi nd its hosts: dpttion to 24. Nigeri. Nigerin Vet J. Vol. 29(2): 31-36. long-lsting interctions s wy to chieve efficient Krshim, S.N., Tizhe, E.V. nd Bukr, D.P. (2010) A trnsmission. Vet. Res. 40:3-7. ******** Veterinry World, EISSN: 2231-0916 124