Inventory of Ticks in the Savannah Ecosystem of the Ferkessedougou Sugarcane Zone in Northern Cote d'Ivoire

Dr. N'Goran Kouame Edouard, Dr. Boka Essehin Enock, Dr. Loukou N'Goran Etienne, Dr. Niamien Coffi Jean Magloire

Abstract: A prospecting study on 200 cattle and 166 wild animals was conducted in the sugarcane area of Ferkess?dougou (C?te d'Ivoire) to better comprehend the tick species in the Savannah District. Manual tick extraction resulted in a total of 2,290 ticks. Nine tick species were identified, four of which were Cattle-specific (Hyalommatruncatum, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) geigyi, and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus) and four of which were wild-animal specific (Haemaphysalislaechi, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Rhipicephalus simpsoni, and Ixodes aulacodi) with Amblyomma variegatum common to both animal groups. These tick species are classified into two (2) families, with eight (8) belonging to the Amblyommidae family and only one (I. aulacodi) belonging to the Ixodidae family. R. (B) microplus was the most infectious tick species in cattle, with infection rates ranging from 78% in the Zebu breed to 90% in the Baoul? breed. With infestation prevalence ranging from 48 % in the Baoul? breed to 64 % in the N'Dama breed, A. variegatum was the second most infectious tick species. In contrast, R. sanguineus ticks affected the majority of wild animals, with infestation rates ranging from 40% in rats (Rattus rattus) to 95.3 % in rabbits (Oryctolagus sp).Cattle and wild animals share a single tick species (A. variegatum) of which only juvenile forms (nymphs and larvae) have been detected in wild animals which could be reservoirs for this species.

Keywords: tick species, cattle, wild animals, C?te d'Ivoire