Volume: 57 Issue: 1
Year: 2026, Page: 193-199, Doi: https://doi.org/10.51966/jvas.2026.57.1.193-199
Received: Jan. 24, 2026 Accepted: March 12, 2026 Published: March 31, 2026
Tick infestation remains a major constraint to cattle production in tropical regions owing to its effects on animal health and productivity. The present study investigated ixodid tick fauna, relative abundance and infestation patterns in cattle from four southern districts of Tamil Nadu, Tirunelveli, Tenkasi, Thoothukudi and Kanyakumari, during January 2024 to August 2025. A total of 3,463 ticks representing eight species were collected, with Rhipicephalus microplus emerging as the dominant species (67.31%), followed by Haemaphysalis bispinosa and Hyalomma marginatum. Significant district wise variation in tick species composition was observed, whereas overall infestation prevalence did not differ significantly across seasons or age and breed categories. Female cattle showed significantly higher infestation rates than males. These findings highlight the influence of geographical and host related factors on tick ecology in southern Tamil Nadu and emphasize the need for region specific tick control strategies.
Keywords: Ixodid ticks, cattle, prevalence, host factors, seasonality, Tamil Nadu
Aparna, M., Ravindran, R., Vimalkumar, M. B., Lakshmanan, B., Rameshkumar, P., Kumar, K. G., Promod, K., Ajithkumar, S., Ravishankar, C., Devada, K., Subramanian, H., George, A. J., & Ghosh, S. (2011). Molecular characterization of Theileria orientalis causing fatal infection in crossbred adult bovines of South India. Parasitology International, 60(4), 524–529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parint.2011.08.002
Ayyavu, V., Nallan, K., Ayyanar, E., Thiruppathi, B., Kumar, A., & Rajaiah, P. (2024). Distribution of ixodid tick species parasitizing livestock in Sirumalai, the Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu, South India and its implications for public health. Acarological Studies, 6, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.47121/acarolstud.1352496
Baghel, K. R., Saravanan, B. C., Jeeva, K., Chandra, D., Singh, K. P., Ghosh, S., & Tewari, A. K. (2023). Oriental theileriosis associated with a new genotype of Theileria orientalis in buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calves in Uttar Pradesh, India. Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases, 14, 102077. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102077
Balasubramanian, R., Yadav, P. D., Sahina, S., & Arathy Nadh, V. (2019). Distribution and prevalence of ticks on livestock population in endemic area of Kyasanur forest disease in Western Ghats of Kerala, South India. Journal of Parasitic Diseases, 43, 256–262. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12639-019-01086-7
Elango, A., Shriram, A. N., Raju, H. K., & Kumar, A. (2024). Study on the ixodid tick species diversity (Acari: Ixodidae) on domestic ruminants in different agro-climatic regions of Tamil Nadu. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 56, 73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-024-03912-4
Ghosh, S., Patra, G., Borthakur, S. K., Behera, P., Tolenkhomba, T. C., Das, M., & Lalnunpuia, C. (2019). Prevalence of hard tick infestations in cattle of Mizoram, India. Biological Rhythm Research, 50(4), 564–574. https://doi.org/10.1080/09291016.2018.1437822
Jacob, S. S., Sengupta, P. P., Kumar, H. B. C., Maharana, S. M., Goudar, A., Chandu, A. G. S., Rakshitha, T. S., Shivakumar, V., Gulati, B. R., & Reddy, G. B. M. (2024). Unveiling genotypic diversity of Theileria orientalis in lethal outbreaks among bovines in Karnataka, India. Parasitology Research, 123, 202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-024-08227-9
Kakati, P., Sarmah, P. C., Ray, D., Bhattacharjee, K., Sharma, R. K., Barkalita, L. M., Sarma, D. K., Baishya, B. C., Borah, P., & Stanley, B. (2015). Emergence of oriental theileriosis in cattle and its transmission through Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus in Assam, India. Veterinary World, 8(9), 1099–1104. https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2015.1099-1104
Krishnamoorthy, P., Akshata, L. G., Jacob, S. S., Suresh, K. P., & Roy, P. (2021). Theileriosis prevalence status in cattle and buffaloes in India established by systematic review and meta-analysis. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences, 91(4), 269–279.
Nimisha, M., Devassy, J. K., Pradeep, R. K., Pakideery, V., Sruthi, M. K., Pious, A., Kurbet, P. S., Amrutha, B. M., Chandrasekhar, L., Deepa, C. K., Ajithkumar, K. G., Varghese, A., Juliet, S., Dinesh, C. N., Nair, S. N., Chandy, G., Ghosh, S., & Ravindran, R. (2019). Ticks and accompanying pathogens of domestic and wild animals of Kerala, South India. Experimental and Applied Acarology, 79, 137–155. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10493-019-00414-z
Ponnudurai, G., Larcombe, S., Velusamy, R., Rani, N., Kolte, S. W., Rubinibala, B., Alagesan, A., Rekha, B., & Shiels, B. (2017). Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in co-grazed dairy bovines differs by region and host-type in Tamil Nadu, India. Advances in Dairy Research, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.4172/2329-888X.1000177
Raju, H. K., Elango, A., Krishnamoorthi, R., & Rahi, M. (2025). Prevalence and abundance of ixodid ticks in domestic mammals in villages at the forest fringes of the Western Ghats, India. Animals, 15(13), 2005. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15132005
Ranganathan, K., Renu, G., Ayyanar, E., Veeramanoharan, R., & Paulraj, P. S. (2021). Species composition of hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) on domestic animals and their public health importance in Tamil Nadu, South India. Acarological Studies, 3, 16–21. https://doi.org/10.47121/acarolstud.779635
Sumathi, K., Jeyathilakan, N., Anna, T., Ramesh, A., Chandrasekar, M., Boopathy Raja, M., & Sangaran, A. (2026). Prevalence, species composition, and patterns of ixodid tick infestations in theileriosis suspected cattle in Southern Tamil Nadu. International Journal of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry, SP-11, 58–64.
Thrusfield, M. (2018). Veterinary epidemiology (4th ed.). Wiley-Blackwell.
Velusamy, R., Rani, N., Ponnudurai, G., Harikrishnan, T. J., Anna, T., Arunachalam, K., Senthilvel, K., & Anbarasi, P. (2014). Influence of season, age and breed on prevalence of haemoprotozoan diseases in cattle of Tamil Nadu, India. Veterinary World, 7(8), 574–578. https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2014.574-578
Vinodkumar, K., Shyma, V., Justin, D. K., Ashok, S., Anu, J. P., Mini, K., Muhammedkutty, V., Sasidharan, S., & Chullipparambil, S. (2016). Fatal Theileria orientalis N2 genotype infection among Asian water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in a commercial dairy farm in Kerala, India. Parasitology, 143(1), 69–74. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0031182015001400
Walker, A. R., Bouattour, A., Camicas, J. L., Estrada-Peña, A., Horak, I. G., Latif, A. A., Pegram, R. G., & Preston, P. M. (2003). Ticks of domestic animals in Africa: A guide to identification of species. Bioscience Reports.
Yenew, A. S., Dagnachew Nigatu, S., Seyoum, Z., & Chanie, M. (2025). Epidemiology of ticks and tick-borne hemopathogens of cattle in two selected districts of Northwest Ethiopia. Veterinary Medicine and Science, 11, e70293. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.70293
© 2026 Sumathi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.