Genotyping of the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis) parasitizing domestic small ruminants in Erbil – the Kurdistan region of Iraq

• Published in: Polytechnic Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 98 - 102
• Main Authors: Khalis A. Hamadameen, Hemdad H. Mawlood, Nawzad K. Bawaker, Omer M. Amin, Hawri H. Mohammed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Erbil Polytechnic University 01.03.2022
• Subjects: cat; ctenocephalides felis; domestic; flea; genotyping; ruminants
• ISSN: 2707-7799
• DOI: 10.25156/ptj.v12n1y2022.pp98-102

Small ruminants such as sheep and goats are deemed an important economic source in the Kurdistan region. Infestations with haematophagous ectoparasites such as fleas, which are common vectors in transmitting serious bacterial diseases, pose a great menace on the public health and animal welfare. To meet the requirements of the study, convenient sampling and molecular characterization were used to investigate infestations of sheep and goats with the cat flea, Ctenocephalides (C.) felis in Erbil governorate. A total of 400 samples (200 of sheep and 200 of goats) from 12 ruminant farms at five districts from intensive and semi- intensive breeding systems were examined. The overall prevalence of the cat flea infestation was 65.79% and 34.21% for goat and sheep respectively. High infestation by cat flea (80.32 ± 2.377) was observed in ruminant reared in intensive management system as compared to those of the semi- intensive management system (4.760 ± 0.8109). Molecular characterization of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene and sequencing results confirmed the morphological identifications. The accession numbers: MZ156870, MZ156871, MZ156872, MZ156873 and MZ156874 for C. felis from Sheep and goats were allotted in NCBI. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular study of C. felis in small ruminants in the Kurdistan region and Iraq. Since cat fleas can infest various hosts, this could pose a threat of pathogen transmission, therefore further studies are required.