Veterinary Archives, Vol. 76 No. 1, 2006.
Original scientific paper
Environmental and multi-host infestation of the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus in Owerri, South-east Nigeria- a case report
Ifeanyi Charles Okoli
Chidi Grace Okoli
Maxwell Opara
Abstract
The common brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus is the most predominant tick of dogs in Nigeria. It does not readily attack humans but usually prefers non-human hosts for completion of its development. We report a case of multi-host and environmental infestation of Rhipicephalus sanguineus involving five humans, two canines and three ovine hosts at a peri-urban site in south-eastern Nigeria. Eleven cases of human infestation were recorded, ten of which involved children between the ages of 4 and 8 years, while a single case was recorded in an adult female. Among the domestic animals ticks were found attached to a 2-year-old male Alsatian, an 8- year-old mongrel and three West African dwarf (WAD) sheep comprising a ewe and her two lambs. This case of multi-host parasitism may have resulted from extensive bush clearing in the area resulting in non-availability of other alternative hosts.
Keywords
parasitism; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; human; ovine; canine; babesiosis; Nigeria
Hrčak ID:
5089
URI
Publication date:
20.2.2006.
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