A survey of hard tick’s infestation in equids of‏ ‏Turkman sahra, Northeast of Iran

Ticks are important ectoparasites in equids which causes economic losses in animal husbandry of Iran and worldwide. This study was aimed to determine frequency and species diversity of hard ticks in equids in Turkman sahra, Iran. 240 equids were randomly selected and examined from 2018-2019. Ixodid ticks were collected from body surface of examined animals and identified. Of all examined equids, 37.91% horses, and 4.16% donkeys were infested with a total number of 357 ixodid ticks. Tick indices (tick number per animal) were 3.53.  The highest prevalence of hard ticks was found in ≥3 years-old equids in the region. There was significant difference between prevalence and different age groups of infested animals. Of all examined ticks (357), three genera including Hyalomma spp., Rhipicephalus spp. and Dermacentor spp. with four species. i.e. Hyalomma anatolicum (65.26%), H. marginatum (10.64%), Rhipicephalus bursa (22.12%) and Dermacentor marginatus (1.96%) were identified. Ixodid ticks’ infestations occured throughout the year with the highest prevalence in spring. There was significant difference between prevalence of hard ticks and seasons in this study. The results revealed that species diversity and ixodid ticks’ infestations were prevalent in the equids of Turkman sahra, Iran.