Research note on ticks and tick-borne deseases of Southern Eastern Tanzania

Abstract

Tick and blood surveys were carried out in the Lower, Kihansi area in Iringa and Morogoro regions of South-eastern Tanzania. The objective was to identify the tick species present in the area and isolate the tick-borne pathogens transmissible to man and animals. This was in response to complaints from non-indigenous people working in the area who got bitten by ticks and suffered serious reactions. The tick species identified from the area were Amblyomma variegatum, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, R. evertsi, R. kochi, R. pravus, R. sanguineus and Haemaphysalis leachii. Efforts to isolate the pathogens from ticks failed but serological tests by use of Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), Immunofluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT) and Heamagglutination Inhibition (HAl) techniques on sera collected from humans, baboons, gazelle, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, chicken and rodents, revealed the following pathogens to be circulating within the human and animal populations: protozoans: Trypanosoma, rickettsia: Rickettsia conorii, Anaplasma and Cowdria; viruses: Wesselsbron, Chikungunya, Sindbis, yellow fever and West Nile. This was a preliminary survey to provide base-line information. There is need of carrying out a more extensive survey in order to establish the extent of the problem, and also to associate the different pathogens to specific tick species so as to be able to design appropriate control measures.

Keywords: Ticks, tick-borne diseases, pathogens, south-eastern Tanzania

Tanzania J. Agric. Sc. (201)O) Vol. 3, No.2, 65-112