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of human and animal wastes, even by the side of
streets (Aina, 2002, Unpublished B.Sc. project of
Department of Geography, A.B.U. Zaria).
Sample Collection
120 cattle were randomly selected and
ectoparasites specimen were collected from them.
All parts of the body of cattle were carefully
examined. Using hand gloves, the ticks were
removed from the body of the host with all
necessary precautions to avoid damage to the
mouthparts of the ticks and skin of host. Specimens
collected were put in folded white paper (each
sample/ animal) with little space to allow the ticks
have access to air. The specimen containers were
carefully labeled to indicate: breed of cattle, site of
tick location in the body of the animal and sex of
the animal. The samples collected were then
transported to the Veterinary Entomology
Laboratory, ABU, Zaria and directly preserved in
70 % alcohol before examination.
Morphological identification
The live ticks were placed in petri dish
containing 70% alcohol using forceps and the
samples were examined with low power dissecting
microscope (Nikon, made in Japan) and identified
by using the key of morphological characters as
described by Service (1979).
Statistical Analysis
The data collected were tabulated according to
the number of visits to the abattoir. The students ttest
were used to compare the means, correlation
analysis was also used to compare between types of
ticks and the lesions, the sex and breed of cattle;
using the SPSS version 16.
Results and Discussion
Presented in Tables 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, about 120
heads of cattle were sampled, out of which 66 (55
%) were males and 54 (45 %) females. Among the
breed in the same population, the White Fulani
breed was the most frequent breed with 90 (75 %),
followed by Red Bororo, 20 (16.7 %) and Sokoto
Gudali 10 (8.3 %). The result showed that inguinal
region was the most common predilection site for
83 J. Vet. Adv., 2012, 2(2):81-87
OBADIAH AND SHEKARO
the ticks, with 53 (44. 2 %) and the chest had the
least with 5 (4.2 %).
Table 1: Sex variation in with tick infestation
Sex Frequency Prevalence (%)
Male 66 55.0
Female 54 45.0
Total 120 100
Table 2: Breed associated with tick infestation
Breed Frequency Prevalence (%)
White Fulani 90 75.0
Sokoto Gudali 10 8.3
Red Bororo 20 16.7
Total 120 100
Table 3: Predilection site associated with tick infestation
Predilection site Frequency Prevalence (%)
Inguinal 53 44.2
Chest 5 4.2
General body surface 62 51.7
Total 120 100
Table 4: Types of ticks observed in the animals
Type of tick Frequency Prevalence (%)
Amblyoma sp. 27 22.5
Boophilus sp. 21 17.5
Rhipicephalus sp.
Hyalomma sp.
Others
4
8
60
3.3
6.7
50
Total 120 100
Table 5: Lesions observed associated with tick
infestation
Lesion Frequency Prevalence (%)
Present 19 15.8
Absent 202 84.2
Total 120 100
Four types of ticks were identified:
Amblyomma variegatum, Boophilus decoloratus,
Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and Hyalomma sp. The
frequency of occurrence in the study showed that
Amblyomma variegatum 27 (22. 5 %) was the
commonest ticks observed in cattle in Zaria abattoir
followed by Boophilus decoloratus, 21 (17. 5),
Hyalomma, 8 (6.7 %) and Rhipicephalus
sanguineus 4 (3.3 %). In addition, 19 animals had
skin lesions similar to that described for
Dermatophilos infection while 101 animals had
none. Some of these lesions were associated with
ticks’ infestations, while some were not (Table 4).