Ticks, Demographics, and Farmer’s Influence on Red Meat Production in Communal Regions of Eastern Cape Province
1
Department of Agriculture and Animal Health, University of South Africa, Florida Science Campus, Johannesburg, South Africa
2
Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture, Dohne Agricultural Development Institute, Stutterheim, South Africa
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A604
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Ticks are the most important vectors of human pathogens, leading to increased public health burdens worldwide. These ticks cause tick-borne diseases which are significant bacterial, viral, and protozoal infections transmitted to humans and animals by ticks, often causing severe illness and mortality. Top, high-impact diseases include Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis.
METHODS:
Data on demographic factors was collected from 271 farmers of the five District Municipalities (DMs) of the Eastern Cape through questionnaires. Tick species and distribution of cattle and goats were collected and recorded from 158 sampling sites of the 26 Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD) black owned farms.
RESULTS:
A total of 34,929 adult ticks belonging to five genera were encountered. The most abundant tick genera were Rhipicephalus of the subgenus Boophilus (68.91%), Amblyomma (20.72%), Hyalomma (8.64%), Ixodes (1.22%), and Haemaphysalis (0.51%). By geographic distributions, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus were common to all DMs, while R. microplus and R. decoloratus were found in the drier regions. Lack of marketing channels (23%), poor animal conditions (20%), lack of infrastructure (19%), high price of medicine (14%), shortage of feed (10%), stock theft (8%), and age of animals (too old) to be marketed (6%) are the major shortcomings in red meat production. We found that the associations between gender (χ2 = 31.3481, p < 0.0001), age (χ2= 32.4889, p < 0.0001), and farming experience (χ2 = 52.7556, p < 0.0001) were significantly higher.
CONCLUSIONS:
It is necessary to provide new and updated data, from different geographical and climatological areas, and critically look at parasitic prevalence, seroprevalence, clinical incidence, pathogen presence, and the pathogen infection and inoculation rate by ticks. There is a need for government’s intervention to farmers through the provision of livestock-based programs.
Ticks are the most important vectors of human pathogens, leading to increased public health burdens worldwide. These ticks cause tick-borne diseases which are significant bacterial, viral, and protozoal infections transmitted to humans and animals by ticks, often causing severe illness and mortality. Top, high-impact diseases include Lyme disease, tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF), babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and ehrlichiosis.
METHODS:
Data on demographic factors was collected from 271 farmers of the five District Municipalities (DMs) of the Eastern Cape through questionnaires. Tick species and distribution of cattle and goats were collected and recorded from 158 sampling sites of the 26 Land Redistribution for Agricultural Development (LRAD) black owned farms.
RESULTS:
A total of 34,929 adult ticks belonging to five genera were encountered. The most abundant tick genera were Rhipicephalus of the subgenus Boophilus (68.91%), Amblyomma (20.72%), Hyalomma (8.64%), Ixodes (1.22%), and Haemaphysalis (0.51%). By geographic distributions, Amblyomma and Rhipicephalus were common to all DMs, while R. microplus and R. decoloratus were found in the drier regions. Lack of marketing channels (23%), poor animal conditions (20%), lack of infrastructure (19%), high price of medicine (14%), shortage of feed (10%), stock theft (8%), and age of animals (too old) to be marketed (6%) are the major shortcomings in red meat production. We found that the associations between gender (χ2 = 31.3481, p < 0.0001), age (χ2= 32.4889, p < 0.0001), and farming experience (χ2 = 52.7556, p < 0.0001) were significantly higher.
CONCLUSIONS:
It is necessary to provide new and updated data, from different geographical and climatological areas, and critically look at parasitic prevalence, seroprevalence, clinical incidence, pathogen presence, and the pathogen infection and inoculation rate by ticks. There is a need for government’s intervention to farmers through the provision of livestock-based programs.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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