Identification and Prevalence of Hard Tick in and Around Sude Woreda, Arsi Zone, Ethiopia

A cross sectional study was conducted from November 2015 to April 2016 around Sude woreda, Arsi zone with the objectives to estimate the prevalence of hard tick infestation, identification of tick species and their preferred site on cattle’s body. A total of 384 cattle were randomly selected and examined for the presence of tick. Out of the total examined 289(75.3%) were infested by one or more tick species. and significantly (P<0.05) higher prevalence of tick infestation was observed on poor body condition (100%), medium (94.7%) and good (36.2%) respectively. The prevalence of tick infestation was also statistically significant (P<0.05) with in breeds and higher prevalence were in cross breed (90.2%) than local breeds (73.5%). In the current study area four genera (Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus, Boophilus and Hyalomma) and six species were identified. The prevalence of each tick species was Amblyomma variegatum (38.75%) Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi (28.61%),Boophilus decoloratus(17.72%),Amblyommalepidium(5.93),Hyalomma marginatum rufipes (5.44%) and Rhipicephalus pulchilus (3.54%).Among the tick species .A.variegatum(38.75%) and R.pulchlus(3.54) were the most abundant and least prevalent tick species respectively. Furthermore, the tick species were seen by their site of preference Rh. evertsievertsi(63.69%) prefers under tail and A.variegatum(39.78%) prefers under/scrotum and (37.23%) prefer brisket.The higher prevalence in the current study was due to agro climatic condition (rain fall, humidity, and temperature), host density and poor management system. Therefore it is recommended that it’s better to develop the best control strategies of tick and tick borne diseases in the study area. Keywords: Cattle; Predilectionsite; Prevalence; Sude woreda; Tick specie