Identification of Tick Species and Bovine Tick Infestation in Dire DawaAdministration, Eastern Ethiopia

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2018 to April 2019 to determine the prevalence and to identify the common hard tick species infesting cattle in the Dire Dawa Administration, Eastern Ethiopia. A total of 384 cattle were selected randomly and examined for the presence of the tick. Of the total animals examined 63.01% were found to be infested by one or more tick species. A total of 1,136 adult ticks were collected from infested animals during the study period, five tick species from three genera were identified. The identified tick species were included: Amblyomma gemma (6.33%), Amblyomma variegatum (42.43%), Rhipicephalus evertsi evertis (11.27%), Rhipicephalus Pullchelus (21.65%), and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus (18.31%) with their respective prevalence. The most prevalent species was A. variegatum (42.42%) followed by R. Pullchelus (21.65%) and the least prevalent were A. gemma (6.33%). Tick infestation was significantly (P ≤ 0.003, OR=1.690) higher in female animals (71.5%) than males (59.4%). Tick infestation was no significant variation (p>0.05) among age group; however, it was higher in adult cattle (75%) followed by old cattle (69.6%), and the least prevalence was recorded in young cattle (56.1%). The prevalence of tick infestation was significantly (P ≤ 0.038, OR=1.500) higher in the local breed (73.1%) than crossbreed (44.3%). Likewise, tick infestation was also significantly (P ≤ 0.002, OR=1.047) highest in poor (79.7%) followed by medium (70.1%) and lowest in good body condition (47.5%) cattle; it also significantly (P ≤ 0.000, OR=2.795) higher tick infestation was recorded in field grazing than house feeding. In general, high tick infestation was recorded in the study area. The economic impact of ticks and tick-borne diseases is huge in our country and also in Dire Dawa Administration. Therefore, effective and sustainable control strategies of ticks are essential to minimize economic loss due to tick and tick-borne diseases. Further seasonal investigation of tick infestation should be conducted by other scholars and organizations.