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Ticks Infesting Livestock on Farms in Western Sicily, Italy

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Abstract

The results of a 2-year survey on ticks infesting livestock on farms in Western Sicily, Italy, are reported. Several dogs living in the same area were also examined for ticks. Moreover, free-living ticks from one cattle farm were caught by CO2 traps and flagging. A total of 6208 specimens was collected belonging to 9 species: Rhipicephalus bursa (32.4%), Rhipicephalus turanicus (22.7%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (19.3%), Hyalomma lusitanicum (12.0%), Haemaphysalis punctata (7.8%), Hyalomma marginatum (3.5%), Dermacentor marginatus (1.4%), Ixodes ricinus (0.8%) and Ixodes hexagonus (0.1%). The species belonging to the genus Rhipicephalus were present on all hosts and habitats monitored, R. bursa was found to be abundant on cattle (46.3%) and sheep (62.0%), R. sanguineus was prevalent on dogs (50.4%), and R. turanicus on donkeys (41.0%) and as free-living species (48.5%).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sicilia “A. Mirri”, Palermo, Italy

    Alessandra Torina & Santo Caracappa

  2. Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Disease, Section of Vector-Borne Diseases and International Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena, 299-00161, Rome, Italy

    Cristina Khoury & Michele Maroli

Authors
  1. Alessandra Torina
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  2. Cristina Khoury
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  3. Santo Caracappa
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  4. Michele Maroli
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Correspondence to Michele Maroli.

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Torina, A., Khoury, C., Caracappa, S. et al. Ticks Infesting Livestock on Farms in Western Sicily, Italy. Exp Appl Acarol 38, 75–86 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-005-5629-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-005-5629-1

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