Prevalence and associated risk factors of small ruminant ectoparasitism in Kelantan

Ectoparasitism affects small ruminant production and the economy of Malaysia, causing reduction in meat quality and milk production. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of small ruminants’ ectoparasitism in Kelantan. A total of 910 sheep and goats were examined for ectoparasites (ticks, lice, fleas and mange mites) in 123 farms in Kelantan. Survey forms (questionnaires) were distributed to farm owners to obtain additional background information on the farm and the livestock. Then, the samples of ectoparasites were collected by manual picking; while skin scrapping was done from any lesions on sheep and goats. From 910 small ruminants examined, 655 were positive for one or more types of ectoparasites with an overall prevalence of 72.20%. From 72.20% of infested small ruminants, lice were the most prevalent ectoparasite species found on small ruminants with 57.03% of the livestock infested with lice followed by tick, flea and mite with 23.85%, 0.66% and 0.33% of infestation respectively. A total of three species of lice, three species of tick, one species of flea and two species of mites were discovered from the small ruminants. The severity of parasitic infestations was influenced by the vegetation on inland region, wet season on the study areas, and semi intensive management. The difference in prevalence of ectoparasites infestation was found statistically associated (P < 0.05) with the risk factors which are season, region, and farm management. Besides, there were numerous reports on the economic loss of milk and meat production in sheep and goats caused by Tick-Borne Disease (TBD). The common TBD in small ruminant were theileriosis, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and trypanosomiasis. Blood parasite infections in these ruminants primarily caused by the protozoans transmitted by arthropod vectors. The detection of the blood pathogens from tick samples enabled the determination of the exact blood pathogens species from different tick species and animal host. All engorged ticks collected were pooled from same host species and amplified by PCR using reference primer to detect pathogen (Babesia sp., Theileria sp. and Anaplasma sp.). However, there was no pathogen detected from the sample collected. The result from this study indicated that small ruminants in Kelantan are suffering from the problem of ectoparasite. The prevalence of this ectoparasitism are mainly associated with the three risk factors that have been identified in this study which are season, region, and farm management. The study thus provides baseline epidemiological data of ectoparasitism on small ruminant. This information is useful in planning prevention and control measures in order to reduce the problem of ectoparasitism in small ruminants and in return to enhance ruminants’ productivity in Kelantan.