Estimate of hard ticks parasitizing herbivorous animals in the northern Albania

Abstract

Hard ticks are arthropods of the class Arachnida. They are vectors of many pathogens causing
diseases not only in wild animals but also in farm animals and humans. The aim of the study was to
collect and then identify hard ticks in farm and grazing animals of northern part of Albania, in the areas
covered by the Regional Directorate of Veterinary and Plant Protection Shkodra, which includes the
districts of Shkodra, Kukës and Lezhë. A total of 639 samples were collected and identified during their
two typical seasons, 311 ticks were found on sheep, 98 on cattle’s, 79 on goats and 151 ticks on equines.
In the whole region, five tick genera were identified, with the most widespread being Rhipicephalus,
followed by Hyalomma, Ixodes, Haemaphysalis and Dermacentor. Among many species of hard ticks
collected, resulted that 13 species of them parasitize herbivorous animals of the area. These data confirms
the presence of all species previously mentioned and reported by literature in Albania. However, their
importance resides in their capacity to transmit a multitude of microbial and parasitic disease-causing
agents. All hard tick species names reported in these work were recently updated by the latest
parasitology literature. We also systematically revised and analyzed the current situation in the study
region and highlighted future research priorities to encourage further and deeper studies on this topic and
raise awareness among parasitology, veterinary and biochemistry.