Materials and Methods
Ethical clearance
The University of Fort Hare Ethics Committee granted the ethical
clearance (REC-270710-02-RA) before the commencement of the study.
Permission was granted by the farmers before any ticks collection could
commence from their animals. Ticks collection was done with help of
veterinary personnel and animal health technicians responsible for
handling and treating the animals.
Study area, tick collection and identifications.
The study was conducted from March 2017 to September 2018 in Raymond
Mhlaba local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. Ticks collection
sites and their geographical coordinates are as follow; from Debe, with
the following coordinates: 32.836°S 27.154°E, under Raymond Mhlaba local
Municipality and Fort Beaufort located at 32° 47’ 0” S, 26° 38’ 0” E.
Debe Location shares boundary with Great fish natural reserve which
boast of some wild animals like antelope, boars, giraffe, deer, and
others. Study site map can be accessed through: -
https://tse2.mm.bing.net/th?id=OIP.GvQ4IE1x4Slo9oTuUb9EBgHaEk&pid=Api&P=0&w=284&h=176