Parasitological Survey on Tick-borne Piroplasms of Small Ruminants in Eastern Saudi Arabia

(Malik Hassan Al-Rawaih, ElAwad M. El Hassan, and Omer Abdelatif Al-Jabr)

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Abstract

Piroplasmosis is a serious disease affecting small ruminants around the globe. Determination of its prevalence in a respective area is a key factor in development of effective control measures. The prevalence of this disease amongst small ruminants in The Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia was, investigated during the period from January to December 2010 in the present study. Giemsa-stained thin blood smears and impression smears prepared monthly from sheep and goats in Al-Dammam, Al-Qatif and Al-Jubail were, examined for the presence of tickborne piroplasms. A total number of 3211 small ruminants (1698 goats, 1513 sheep) were examined for both Babesia and Theileria parasites. The overall prevalence of Babesia infection was (36.56%±4.03) while that of Theileria was (0.06%). Four species of piroplasms were detected in the study area namely Babesia ovis, B. motasi, Theileria ovis and T. lestoquardi. A percentage of 36.04%±4.23 of the examined goats and 37.27%±5.95 of the examined sheep were infected with Babesia. The highest seasonal prevalence of Babesia infection was reported in spring (45.19±4.05) and summer (41.43±6.62), followed by winter (34.02±10.21) and autumn (25.59±8.97). Ticks identified in this study include Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma. Ardi and Janobi breeds of goats are most susceptible, followed by crossbreed and Shami breed. In sheep, Neimi breed is the most susceptible followed by Arabi and crossbreed. Animals over one year of age are more susceptible to infection than those aging less than one year. No significant difference reported in susceptibility to infection between different sexes of both animal species. Key Words: Babesia, Hemoparasites, Impression smear, Prevalence, Province, Theileria.
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