Garrapatas ixódidas en vacuno de carne de Asturias: especies, prevalencia y estacionalidad

Abstract

Control of ticks and tick-borne-diseases is an important component of Animal Health programs. Combining vegetation surveys with animal surveys is the best way to understand the endophilous and exophilous tick species present in an area. Based on these premises, we set two objectives: identify the ixodid species present in Asturian cattle and characterize the cycles of the most abundant tick species, defining the activity periods of each stage throughout the year. The Sierra del Sueve was established as a study area, in which we know the spatial coincidence of ticks, extensive livestock and wild species. Between November 2011 and July 2014, a total of 83 animals from 4 cattle herds were sampled, collecting a total of 1,208 ticks. In the subsequent identification, 1028 adult specimens, 120 nymphs and 60 larvae, belonging to 6 species, were counted. The predominant species among the adults and larvae has been Ixodes ricinus (65.95% and 68.33%) and, among the nymphs, Rhipicephalus bursa (45.83%). In one cattle herd it was possible to carry out detailed monitoring over a full year, examining the animals in mountain pastures at the end of July and at the end of September 2012 and in the stable at the end of December 2012 and in May 2013. The information provided by this monitoring reveals the notable variations in the relative proportions of the species and stages of ixodids that parasitize the same herd throughout the year. The study of ticks on animals provides information on the relevance of the problem in Asturian livestock, and allows us to know the optimal moments for the application of acaricidal treatments.