Tick Infestation and Piroplasm Infection in Barbarine and Queue Fine de l'Ouest Autochthonous Sheep Breeds in Tunisia, North Africa.

ABSTRACT: As ticks and tick-borne pathogens affect the productivity of livestock, searching for genetically resistant breeds to infestation by ticks may represent an alternative to the overuse of chemical drugs. The aim of this study was to assess if there is a difference in tick infestation among the main sheep breeds in Tunisia. The study was carried out between April 2018 and January 2020 in 17 small to middle-sized sheep flocks from 3 regions across Tunisia. Four hundred and thirty-nine ear-tagged ewes from Barbarine (n = 288, 65.6%) and Queue Fine de l'Ouest (QFO) (n = 151, 34.4%) breeds were examined and sampled each trimester. Ticks were identified to the species level, and piroplasms were detected using PCR that targets a common sequence ARNr18S to both Babesia and Theileria genera using cat

SUBMITTER: Khamassi Khbou M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8001609 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature