First report of Nosomma monstrosum ticks infesting Asian water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in Pakistan

Ome Aiman; Shafi Ullah; Lidia Chitimia-Dobler; Ard M Nijhof; Abid Ali

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.101899

First report of Nosomma monstrosum ticks infesting Asian water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in Pakistan

Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2022 Mar;13(2):101899. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.101899. Epub 2022 Jan 6.

Authors

Ome Aiman¹, Shafi Ullah¹, Lidia Chitimia-Dobler², Ard M Nijhof³, Abid Ali⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan.
² Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Munich, Germany.
³ Institute for Parasitology and Tropical Veterinary Medicine, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
⁴ Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan. Electronic address: uop_ali@yahoo.com.

PMID: 35026613
DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2022.101899

Abstract

Nosomma monstrosum Nuttall & Warburton, 1908 is a hard tick infesting mainly Asian water buffaloes, but it has also been recorded from cattle, horses, bears, dogs, wild boar and humans in the Oriental region. This tick species has previously not been recorded from Pakistan. A total of 15 adult N. monstrosum ticks (five females and ten males) were collected from an Asian water buffalo herd grazing in Haripur district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Pakistan. Molecular characterization using partial 12S, 16S rRNA, and cytochrome c oxidase 1 (cox1) gene sequences confirmed the identity as N. monstrosum. A phylogenetic analysis showed that N. monstrosum from Pakistan is closely related to specimens reported from Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

Keywords: Asian water buffalo; Nosommamonstrosum; Pakistan; Ticks.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Buffaloes
Female
Ixodidae* / genetics
Male
Pakistan / epidemiology
Phylogeny
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / genetics
Ticks* / genetics

Substances

RNA, Ribosomal, 16S