Lice (Phthiraptera) diversity in ruminants and domestic birds in northeastern Algeria

Due to the traditional rearing conditions in Algerian farms, a broad panel of ectoparasites can infest ruminants and domestic birds. Among them, lice (Phthiraptera) could be a severe source of discomfort, disturbance, and diseases for the infested animals and cause decreased productivity and economic losses. The current study was conducted for two years and aimed to investigate ruminant and domestic bird lice diversity in northeastern Algeria and argue their veterinary importance. The entomological field investigations were conducted on various animal species, including cattle, sheep, goats, backyard chickens, turkeys, and pigeons, in six regions of northeastern Algeria. Lice were collected manually on their hosts and kept in Eppendorf containing 70% ethanol. They were then morphologically identified according to several morphological keys. Among all 4488 collected lice, five species in ruminants and ten in domestic birds were identified. The most common lice species were Bovicola caprae in goats, Haematopinus eurysternus in cattle, Menacanthus stramineus in backyard chickens, Chelopistes meleagridis in turkeys, and Columbicola columbae in pigeons. We also identified other species with various abundance such as Linognathus africanus, Bovicola ovis, Bovicola bovis, Menopon gallinae, Goniocotes gallinae, Goniodes dissimilis, Goniodes gigas, Lipeurus caponis, Cuclotogaster heterographus, and Campanulotes bidentatus s.l.

The survey results suggest that lice infestations are widespread in the studied areas. Further investigation is needed to evaluate such pests’ impact on overall animal health and production.