Updated checklist of the hard ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) of Egypt, with notes of livestock host and tick-borne pathogens

Abstract

The checklist of hard ticks in Egypt was updated with 44 tick species. Hosts, geographical distribution, and pathogens of the hard ticks collected from domestic animals were also reviewed based on our investigation and published data from 1915 to 2021. Lower Nile Valley (including the Delta) had the largest number of hard tick species from domestic animals with 20 different species. Cattle and dromedary camels were infested by 19 hard tick species. Nineteen described species from livestock in Egypt were confirmed to transmit one or more pathogens. Hyalomma dromedarii, Hy. excavatum and Rhipicephalus annulatus carried the highest number of pathogens with 23, 20, and 19 pathogens, respectively. This review recommends further surveillance programs for hard ticks and tick-borne pathogens of domestic animals in the country.