Jala Dulacha*, Roba Jiso and Girma Defar
Cattle production is critical to pastoralists' livelihoods; however, various diseases have hampered its productivity. The current study was conducted in the pastoral area of Dhas District, Borena Zone, Southern Ethiopia, in order to identify the most common cattle health problem and associated risks. A total of 384 cattle were examined, with 122 (31.77%) being males and 262 (68.23%) being females. The infestation of Ixodid ticks was discovered to be the most prevalent disease in cattle in the Dhas district, with an overall prevalence rate of 93.75% (360/384). From the total number of cattle examined, 110 (28.65%) males and 250 (65.10%) females were found to be positive for tick infestation, harboring at least one tick. This result shows that there was a statistically significant difference between tick infestation and cattle body condition that p=0.001 (p=0.05), with poor body condition cattle being more affected by a tick than medium and good body condition cattle. The current study found a significant difference between tick infestation and cattle age (P=0.05), with the older age group being more affected by a tick than the younger age group. The findings revealed that there was a significant difference between gender and tick prevalence, with p=0.048 (p=0.05).
Published Date: 2023-02-17; Received Date: 2022-08-07
