Epidemiological study on the impact of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in different cattle breeds in the northern part of Bangladesh (Professional training and teaching in order to strengthen the research and teaching capacities)

Partner institutions:
Institute of Biological Sciences, University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Institute of Biology, Parasitology, University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Associate partner: Department of Livestock Services (DLS), Bangladesh

Funded by:
KFPE (Commission for Research Partnerships with Developing Countries), Switzerland under University Exchange Program
MOSICT (Ministry of Science and Information & Communication Technology), Bangladesh under Special Allocation Program

Bangladesh is basically an agrarian country with 84% of the total population living in rural areas and 55.6% directly and indirectly engaged with agricultural activities. Livestocks play an important role in the agricultural economy. About 24.6% GDP comes from agricultural sector and livestock contributes 3.5% (FAO, 2004). Unfortunately there are no accurate and recent estimates available of the damages caused by disease vectors. Only one estimate of the Bangladesh Agricultural University Veterinary hospital puts the losses at 15.2% of the cattle populations due to mosquito, fly and ticks (Rahman et al., 1972). The rich bio-diversity and varied climates puts Bangladesh at particular risk for disease epidemics. No particular emphasis has been given to research on ticks and tick born diseases. However the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens, the distribution and the incidence of ticks and tick transmitted diseases are unknown. There is a clear need to locate the tick endemic areas and to identify the severity of tick problem. Ticks and tick-borne pathogens are known to exist in Bangladesh. In the Indian subcontinent, several species of tick-borne pathogens in livestock have been described.
On the basis of a 8 year collaboration between the Institute of biological Sciences of the University of Rajshahi and the University of Neuchâtel and mainly financed through private funds and the Federal Commission for Scholarships for foreign students, the present project has as a general objective to institutionalise the scientific activity through a University exchange programme of the scientific expertise between the Institute of Biological Sciences of the University of Rajshahi, Bangladesh and the Biology Institute of the University of Neuchâtel in order to obtain basic information on the prevalence of tick species and pathogens present in cattle in Bangladesh.
This information will be used to contribute to the formulation and implementation of a national program for the control of ticks and tick-borne diseases in close collaboration with different national institutions. An exchange of collaborators of both Institutions is therefore crucial for a success of the project.
Classical diagnostic methods, like blood smears and salivary gland smear of ticks, are used to determine the presence of haemoparasites and very limited also used for research purpose in Bangladesh. Due to morphological similarities it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between different species. Molecular diagnostic methods, so far not yet used in Bangladesh, could help to determine the prevalence and incidence of tick-borne diseases in cattle in Bangladesh. PCR and RLB-PCR are new molecular techniques now widely used for the detection of tick-borne diseases from blood and ticks in cattle. The training and collaboration in a mutual partnership should help to use these methods for the detection of haemoparasites in the bovine blood and in the haemolymph of ticks of cattle in Bangladesh.

Contacts:

Prof. B. Betschart
Institute of Biology
University of Neuchâtel
Rue Emile-Argand 11
2009 Neuchâtel
Switzerland
Bruno.Betschart@unine.ch

Prof. M. Wahedul Islam
Institute of Biological Sciences
University of Rajshahi
Rajshahi – 6205
Bangladesh
mwislam2001@yahoo.com

Dr. Nadira Akhtar
Institute of Biological Sciences
University of Rajshahi
Rajshahi – 6205
Bangladesh
ndrakhtar639@yahoo.com

Fig.1 Ticks on the ear of a cattle
 

Fig. 2 Damaged skin due to tick bite in Bangladesh

Fig. 3 Ticks sampling in the field

Fig. 4 Dr. N. Akhtar determines tick species, collected from cattles in Bangladesh