Ticks and tick-borne diseases of bovines in a smallholder livestock context: The Pakistani example

Ticks and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs) substantially affect the health and production of ruminants, particularly in resource-poor, small-scale farming systems worldwide. However, to date, there has been no critical appraisal of the current state of knowledge of TTBDs in such farming systems. In this article, we systematically reviewed the situation in Pakistan-as an example of a country that is highly reliant on agriculture to sustain its economy, particularly smallholder livestock farms, which are continually faced with challenges associated with TTBDs. The main aims of this review were to gain improved insights into the current status of TTBDs in small-scale farming systems, and to identify knowledge gaps, through the systematic evaluation of published literature on this topic from Pakistan, and to recommend future research directions. We searched publicly available literature from three databases (i.e. Web of Science, Google Scholar, and PubMed) on bovine TTBDs in Pakistan. Of 11,224 published studies identified, 185 were eligible for inclusion; these studies were published between August 1947 and June 2021. A critical analysis of these 185 studies revealed that the diagnosis of ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in Pakistan has been based largely on the use of traditional methods (i.e. 'morpho-taxonomy'). At least 54 species of tick have been recorded, most of which belong to the genera Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma and Rhipicephalus. The prevalence of ticks was higher, particularly in young, exotic and crossbred female cattle, during the summer season. Major TBPs include species of Anaplasma, Babesia and Theileria, with prevalences being higher in cattle than buffaloes. Additionally, pathogens of zoonotic potential, including species of Anaplasma, Borrelia, the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus, Coxiella, Ehrlichia and Rickettsia, have been recorded in both tick and bovine populations. Information on risk factors, spatial-temporal distribution, genetic diversity, and control of ticks and TBPs is limited, the vector potential of ticks and the distribution patterns of ticks and TBPs in relation to climate remains largely unexplored. Future research should focus on addressing these knowledge gaps and the key challenges of poverty, food security and disease outbreaks in a small-scale livestock farming context in order to provide sustainable, environment-friendly control measures for TTBDs.

A Participatory Investigation of Bovine Health and Production Issues in Pakistan

Systems to record the frequency of animal health events in Pakistan are limited. A participatory approach was used to address gaps in farmers' knowledge and understanding of bovine health and production issues in five agroecological zones (AEZs) of Pakistan. Participatory tools, including simple ranking, pairwise ranking, constraint impact scoring, and constraint profiling were used in group discussions with farmers and animal health professionals (AHPs) in six districts of two provinces, Punjab and Sindh. The results of the ranking activities showed that foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), clinical mastitis, ticks, hemorrhagic septicemia, reproductive disorders, blackleg, and endoparasites were the most important bovine health and production constraints for small-scale dairy farmers. Constraint impact scoring showed that the participants perceived that: (1) milk production was severely affected by FMD and mastitis; (2) blackleg and parasitism led to poor growth rates and reduced meat production; (3) reproductive disorders and mastitis caused major economic losses (due to the high cost of treatment); and (4) blackleg and hemorrhagic septicemia were the leading causes of mortality in cattle and buffaloes. Although there was strong agreement in responses and constraint impact scores between farmers and AHPs, farmers were more concerned about health issues that cause high mortalities, whereas AHPs emphasized the importance of disorders with a high economic impact. Despite socioeconomic differences among AEZs, farmers' knowledge about bovine health and production constraints was similar. The findings from this study revealed that farmers had limited understanding of the risk factors and routes of transmission of various infectious diseases of bovines, which emphasizes the need to develop and implement tailored extension programs in Pakistan to control contagious diseases of animals and to improve the profitability of small-scale dairy farmers.