Abstract

Author:
Manoj Biswakarma, Arjun Aryal

Doi: 10.26480/mahj.01.2024.29.35

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

The study was conducted from November, 2016 to February, 2017 to assess ticks and tick-borne pathogens in dogs in Kathmandu valley. The total of 411 ticks specimen was collected from different body parts of dog and blood samples were collected from same tick infested 100 dogs (54 owner and 46 street dogs). Parasitological procedures were followed for collection and identification of ticks. All tick samples were kept in tubes with 70% alcohol and 5% glycerine so that they could be identified under a stereomicroscope. Dog blood tests were used to check for hemoparasites using the blood smear method. The findings demonstrated that all of the tick samples that were gathered belonged to the same species, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. It is the most prevalent canine ectoparasite in the globe.The result indicated that the favourable predilection sites of Rh. sanguineus ticks were more in the region of the back (38%) followed by the inter-digital space (18%), neck (17%), shoulder (14%), head (8%), ears (4%) and less frequent on thigh (1%). The overall prevalence of haemoparasites was 5% with: Anaplasma spp. (3%), Babesia spp. (1%) and Anaplasma spp. and Ehrlichia canis (1%). There was significant variation (p < 0.05) in the prevalence of haemoparasites and degree of tick infestation. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) of haemoparasites in relation to sex (Male 8.33% and Female 1.92%), age groups (<2years 6.25%, 2-4 years 5.36% and >4 years3.57%) and ownership (Owner 7.41% and street dogs 2.17%).