First tick and tick damage perception survey among sedentary and transhumant pastoralists in Burkina Faso and Benin.

BACKGROUND: Transhumance, a main ancestral animal production strategy of the West African Countries (WAC), can favour the spread of vectors and vector-borne diseases within and/or across countries. Transhumance has been implicated in such spread as well as that of related tick-borne diseases (TBD). METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using a questionnaire survey and statistical modelling, this study explores the perception of herders about ticks and TBD in cattle, their practices in tick control and the social groups involved in cattle farming in eastern Burkina Faso (46 random herds) and in the northern Benin (44 random herds). Results show that most of the herders (79%) are from the Fulani social group. The principal and secondary activities of herders are respectively cattle farming and agriculture. The mean age of pastoralists is between 40 and 50 years depending on the province of origin and 60% of the surveyed herds practice internal or transboundary transhumance. Herders have a clear knowledge of different genus of ticks except the genus Rhipicephalus. Their knowledge of TBD is very limited. These results also reveal that herders in Benin use less acaricides treatment calendar compared with those in Burkina Faso. Transhumant pastoralists (i.e. transhumant cattle farmers) plan more acaricide treatment and have more cows with lost teats (i.e. tick damage) than the sedentary ones. In addition, amitraz appears to be the main acaricide compound used by herders for tick control (68%) but its use is inappropriate and its source is frequently the unregulated market. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: All of these findings can induce acaricide resistance especially as the inefficacy of amitraz against Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus has already been reported in previous studies. Such results would help to elaborate suitable strategies of control and prevention of ticks and TBD in Burkina Faso and Benin.

First digital characterization of the transhumance corridors through Benin used by cattle herds from Burkina Faso and associated risk scoring regarding the invasion of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus.

BACKGROUND: Livestock plays a key role in the macro-economy of West Africa and provides livelihoods for millions of people. The main cattle rearing strategy in West Africa is pastoralism, including transhumance, that is a seasonal migration of cattle with their herders. This adaptive strategy aims to optimize livestock access to water and pastures. However, it can favour pathogens and vectors transboundary spread. The aim of this study was to highlight firstly, the corridors and grazing areas used by Burkina Faso transhumant cattle herds going to Benin; secondly, the characteristics of departure and arrival areas of transhumance; and thirdly, the risk score related to introduction and spread of the invasive tick species, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus, in free areas. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Therefore, GPS devices were given to 27 herders to monitor a full transhumance season between East Burkina Faso and North Benin. The analysis of 14,966 spots generated by the GPS devices revealed four main corridors and five main grazing areas used by cattle herds during transhumance. Statistical analysis of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), rainfall and temperature data, highlighted significant differences between departure and arrival areas. NDVI and rainfall are significantly higher in Benin than Burkina Faso, whereas temperature is significantly lower. Additionally, using biotic and abiotic parameters, a risk scoring was developed to predict the presence of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus at municipality level. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The better vegetation, temperature and rainfall conditions during the dry seasons in Benin attract cattle herds from Burkina Faso. The invasiveness and adaptability of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus added to the frequent stays of transhumant herds in infested areas suggest its potential introduction and establishment in free areas soon. Moreover, frequent intrusions of the transhumant cattle in the wildlife reserves are another risk of vectors and pathogen exchange between domestic and wild animals.