East Coast Fever is a disease of cattle which results in high animal mortality with corresponding economic losses to farmers and to the nation. The disease is caused by a protozoan agent whose vector is Rhipicephalus appendiculatus (Brown Ear Tick). The tick feeds dominantly inside the cattle ear. Studies have shown that the adults of R. appendiculatus exhibit „pull-push‟ effect that guides them to their preferred feeding site. This is linked to the presence of ear volatiles which attracts and anal volatiles which repels the tick. However, there is limited information that describes what produces the volatiles within the cattle ear. This study aims at establishing the role of ear microbes to the brown ear tick behavior while locating its preferred feeding site. In a preliminary observation, release of the ticks on the cattle with one ear sprayed with a broad-spectrum antibiotic showed that most ticks were attracted to the untreated ear, suggesting that the attractant volatiles are derived from specific microbial populations. In the present study where twelve cattle were used, one ear in each cow was treated with vetmycin a broad-spectrum antibiotic while the other ear was left untreated and the orientation behavior of the ticks (R. appendiculatus) placed at six different parts of cattle monitored. Most of the ticks moved to the untreated cattle ear (P
Kenneth, K (2021). Culturing, Characterization And Identification Of Candidate Microorganisms In Cattle Ear, Responsible For Producing Volatile Constituents Attractive To The Brown Ear Tick. Afribary. Retrieved from https://afribary.com/works/culturing-characterization-and-identification-of-candidate-microorganisms-in-cattle-ear-responsible-for-producing-volatile-constituents-attractive-to-the-brown-ear-tick
Kenneth, Kogo "Culturing, Characterization And Identification Of Candidate Microorganisms In Cattle Ear, Responsible For Producing Volatile Constituents Attractive To The Brown Ear Tick" Afribary. Afribary, 06 Jun. 2021, https://afribary.com/works/culturing-characterization-and-identification-of-candidate-microorganisms-in-cattle-ear-responsible-for-producing-volatile-constituents-attractive-to-the-brown-ear-tick. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.
Kenneth, Kogo . "Culturing, Characterization And Identification Of Candidate Microorganisms In Cattle Ear, Responsible For Producing Volatile Constituents Attractive To The Brown Ear Tick". Afribary, Afribary, 06 Jun. 2021. Web. 20 Apr. 2024. < https://afribary.com/works/culturing-characterization-and-identification-of-candidate-microorganisms-in-cattle-ear-responsible-for-producing-volatile-constituents-attractive-to-the-brown-ear-tick >.
Kenneth, Kogo . "Culturing, Characterization And Identification Of Candidate Microorganisms In Cattle Ear, Responsible For Producing Volatile Constituents Attractive To The Brown Ear Tick" Afribary (2021). Accessed April 20, 2024. https://afribary.com/works/culturing-characterization-and-identification-of-candidate-microorganisms-in-cattle-ear-responsible-for-producing-volatile-constituents-attractive-to-the-brown-ear-tick