PREVALENCE OF PSOROPTES OVIS IN SHEEP AROUND MULTAN, PAKISTAN

Institute of Pure and Applied Biology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan;¹Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan

Abstract

    The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Psoroptes ovis infection in sheep. Moreover, the effects of age and sex of the animal on the prevalence of the disease was also studied. For this purpose, 200 sheep (49 males and 151 females) kept in areas around Multan, Pakistan were examined. Depending upon the age, these animals were divided into four groups viz. 1-15 (n=71), 16-30 (n=24), 31-45 (n=46) and 46-60 (n=59) months. Out of 200 hosts examined, 28 were found infested with Psoroptes ovis, showing an overall prevalence of 14.00%.  The prevalence of Psoroptes ovis in male hosts was 20.4% versus 11.92% in females, the difference was statistically non significant (P>0.05). The prevalence was highest (19.71%) in age group of 1–15 months and lowest (8.33%) in age group of 16–30 months. However, the difference in the prevalence between the two groups was statistically non significant (P>0.05).  These results indicate that the sex or age of sheep had no effect on prevalence of Psoroptes ovis.

Key words: Sheep, Psoroptes ovis, age, sex, prevalence.