Infestation of Ruminant Species by Ticks And Lice In Port-Bouët Cattle Market (Abidjan- Cote D’ivoire)

Arthropod-borne diseases are potentially emerging in most countries of the world. However, the first step in assessing the risk of
contracting a vector-borne disease in a given area is to know the vector in that area. It is with this in mind that a study was  conducted at the livestock market in Port-Bouët in october 2015 to identify ticks on cattle and another one in october 2016 to identify lice on small ruminants of this market. For the collection of these ectoparasites, 100 cattle and 202 small ruminants were examined. Of the 72 ticks collected, 84.7% were adult ticks and 15.3% nymphs. Forty-seven (47) lice were collected from sheep and goats. Morphological identification revealed the presence of eight (8) species of ticks and three (3) species of lice. For ticks, the species Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus was the most abundant with 70.83 individuals, followed by Amblyomma variegatum. For lice, Bovicola limbatus, Bovicola caprae and Linognathus africanus were identified. In addition, the existence of lice was reported for the first time by this study in this market. Further study is needed to identify all ectoparasites and know the prevalence of the causative agent in these ectoparasites