RESEARCH COMMUNICATION

 

The prevalence and distribution of Argas walkerae (Acari: Argasidae) in the eastern region of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

 

 

N. Nyangiwe^I; B. Gummow^II; I.G. Horak^III

^IDöhne Agricultural Development Institute, Private Bag X15, Stutterheim, 4930 South Africa, and Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa
^IIDepartment of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa
^IIIDepartment of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, 9300 South Africa, and Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa, and Division of Parasitology, ARC-Onderstepoort Veterinary Institute, Onderstepoort, 0110 South Africa

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

The prevalence and geographic distribution of the fowl tampan, Argas walkerae Kaiser & Hoogstraal, 1969 was determined in the eastern region of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa by inspecting two fowl houses in the vicinity of each of 72 randomly selected communal cattle dip-tanks. Tampans were collected from 102 (70.8 %) of the 144 fowl houses in the neighbourhood of 57 (79.2 %) of the 72 selected dip-tanks, and the localities of the collections were mapped. Argas walkerae was present in fowl houses from the warm coastal regions of the Indian Ocean in the south to the cold and mountainous Drakensberg in the north-east of the Province. Taking into account the probable sensitivity of the sampling method, it is estimated that A. walkerae is likely to be present in fowl houses belonging to between 74 and 84 % of communities making use of cattle dip-tanks in the eastern region of the Eastern Cape Province, and that when it is present, between 64 and 75 %> of fowl houses will be infested. The geographic distribution of A. walkerae seemed to be more strongly associated with the presence of fowls and fowl houses containing raw or processed wood in their structure than with climate.

Keywords: Argas walkerae, Eastern Cape Province, geographic distribution, prevalence, South Africa

---

 

 

“Full text available only in PDF format”

 

 

REFERENCES

CAMERON, A. 1999. Survey toolbox: A practical manual and software package for active surveillance of livestock diseases in developing countries. Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (Monograph No. 54).         [ Links ]

EASTWOOD, E.B. 1971. A brief review of the genus Argas (Ixodoidea: Argasidae) in southern Africa. Journal of the South African Veterinary Medical Association, 42:333-336.         [ Links ]

GOTHE, R. & SCHRECKE, W. 1972. Zur epizootiologischen Bedeutung von Persicargas-Zecken der Hühner in Transvaal. Berliner und Münchner Tierärtzliche Wochenschrift, 85:9-11.         [ Links ]

GOTHE, R. 1999. Zeckentoxikosen-Tick Toxicoses. München: Hieronymus Buchreproduktions GmbH.         [ Links ]

HUCHZERMEYER, F.W. 1972. Argas walkerae in Rhodesia [correspondence]. Rhodesian Veterinary Journal, 3:10.         [ Links ]

KAISER, M.N. & HOOGSTRAAL, H. 1969. The subgenus Persicargas (Ixodoidea, Argasidae, Argas). 7. A. (P.) walkerae, new species, a parasite of domestic fowl in southern Africa. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 62:885-890.         [ Links ]

LOUNSBURY, C.P. 1895. Fowl ticks [letter to the editor]. Agricultural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope, 8:657-658.         [ Links ]

LOUNSBURY, C.P. 1903. The fowl tick. Studies on its life-cycle and habits. Agricultural Journal of the Cape of Good Hope, 23:261-273.         [ Links ]

NORVAL, R.A.I., SHORT, N.J. & CHISHOLM, M. 1985. The ticks of Zimbabwe. XIII. The distribution and ecology of Argas walkerae. Zimbabwe Veterinary Journal, 16:44-53.         [ Links ]

 

 

Accepted for publication 19 November 2007-Editor

 

 

E-mail: nkululeko@dohne.agric.za