Collection and Identification of Ectoparasites in Domestic Mammals of District Malakand KPK, Pakistan

The current study conducted to collect and identify the ectoparasite infesting domestic mammal’s i.e cows, buffaloes, goats and sheep in district Malakand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan during the months of March, May and July 2023. In the present research work, total 542 mammals were screened, out of them 251 were infested with ectoparasites. During present study, two genera of lice and four gnera of ticks were identified. The four genera of ticks were Hyaloma, Rhipicephalus, Ixode, and Heamaphysalus while the two genera of lice were Linognathus and Damalinia. The specimen were collected with the help of mouth blanded forcep and preserved in the formalin (10%). The collected specimens were identified on basis of morphlogical characteristics with the help of identification key as mention by Wall and Shearer (2001) and walker et al; (2003). There were total 655 ectoparasites collected from selected localities, out of these 364 were ticks and 291 lice. The ticks infestations were observed in all the selected mammalian species, while the lice infestation were observed in goats and sheep. Ticks infestations observed high in the cows (31.31%) than buffaloes (27.47%), sheep (19.78%) and goats (21.42%). While the lice infestation high in the in goats (51.20%) than sheep (19.78%). According to the current study we concluded that ectoparasites infest domestic mammals such they are not only the cause of diseases in them but also adverse effect on their growth and productivity.