Original Research

Seasonal activity of ticks infesting domestic dogs in Bejaia province, Northern Algeria

Rosa Kebbi, Mohamed Nait-Mouloud, Lila Hassissen, Abdelhanine Ayad
Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research | Vol 86, No 1 | a1755 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ojvr.v86i1.1755 | © 2019 Rosa Kebbi, Mohamed Nait-Mouloud, Lila Hassissen, Abdelhanine Ayad | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 27 February 2019 | Published: 17 October 2019

About the author(s)

Rosa Kebbi, Department of Environment Biological Sciences, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University of Bejaia, Bejaia, Algeria
Mohamed Nait-Mouloud, Department of Environment Biological Sciences, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University of Bejaia, Bejaia, Algeria
Lila Hassissen, Private Veterinary Practice, Sidi-Ahmed district, Bejaia, Algeria
Abdelhanine Ayad, Department of Environment Biological Sciences, Faculty of Nature and Life Sciences, University of Bejaia, Bejaia, Algeria

Abstract

This epidemiological study aimed to determine the species of tick infestation in dogs, their prevalence and dynamic in the Bejaia province, northeastern Algeria. A total of 631 dogs were examined from different localities of the Bejaia province between March 2016 and February 2017. Of the 631 examined dogs, 15% were infested with one or more tick species. A total of 339 adult ticks were collected and identified, including 199 male tick species and 140 female tick species. Our results revealed that most of these were Rhipicephalus species, with Rhipicephalus sanguineus (51.32%) being the most prevalent followed by Rhipicephalus bursa (35.1%) and Rhipicephalus turanicus (12.98%). Ixodes ricinus represented only 0.6% of all ticks collected. The highest infested seasons were spring (22.55%) and summer (22.54%) and the lowest infested seasons were autumn (8.62%) and winter ( 0.9%). There is no significant difference between the sex of the animal and the prevalence of infestation (p = 0.837). Also, the prevalence of infestation by ticks in young animals was higher than that in adult animals (p = 0.550). A significant difference between the prevalence of infestation and animal breed was observed (p = 0.042). This study is the first epidemiological investigation conducted on the prevalence of hard ticks infesting domestic dogs in Bejaia (northeastern Algeria) based on conventional methods. It is therefore necessary to implement an effective tick control strategy during infestation periods in order to prevent vector-borne diseases.

Keywords

prevalence; dynamic; ticks; dogs; Bejaia province

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Crossref Citations

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