Amblyomma Variegatum Hyalomma Truncatum and Hyalomma Impeltatum Anthropophilic Ticks Introduced to Gabon by the Fulbe Zebus from Cameroon: their Predilection Sites and Ability to Live in Gabon

Author(s): Moubamba Mbina Dieudonne, Ntountoume Ndong Auguste, Maganga Gael Darren

Cattle imports have introduced anthropophilic ticks from Cameroon to Gabon. A survey was conducted with aims of to determine the relative frequencies of these tick species, to compare the infestation intensities of these arthropods on their fixation sites, on body cattle, to evaluate the duration life of the adults anthropophilic ticks on their hosts throughout the year and to propose an acaricide treatment to apply to zebus before acrossing the frontier. The ticks were collected from their predilection sites, from 131 zebus Fulbe. The abundance of the tick species and their infestation burden were evaluated in relative frequencies and in number of ticks per fixation site respectively. Amblyomma variegatum (95.8%), Hyalomma truncatum (3%) and Hyalomma impeltatum (1.2%) were the three anthropophilic ticks species collected from cattle, the most abundant significantly specie was Amblyomma variegatum (P < 0.05). The abdomen was the highest significantly site infested by all tick species (X²= 123.84, P < 0.05) with an infestation intensity of 2.54 ticks per host; the least significantly infested site was the head (X²= 123.84, P < 0.05) with an infestation burden of 0.007 ticks per host; Amblyomma variegatum was the only tick specie that can support Gabonese climatic conditions; Hyalomma truncatum and Hyalomma impeltatum were xerophilic tick species for which this country is a hostile region because Gabon is a humid forest country. The using of an acaricide to treat cattle before acrossing the border remains the best way to prevent the introduction of ticks to Gabon.

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