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Cypermethrin and ivermectin resistance in field populations of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Latrielle, 1806) collected from dogs in south India

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Abstract

The abuse of acaricides for control of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato ticks led to a strong selection pressure for acaricide resistance. Data on acaricide resistance in R. sanguineus s.l. populations from India is meager though veterinarians frequently report treatment failures. The present study was aimed to characterize the level of resistance in R. sanguineus s.l. against most commonly used drugs, cypermethrin and ivermectin in Andhra Pradesh, south India. Fourteen adult female tick populations were collected from naturally infested dogs at veterinary clinics, residence and stray dog in nine state municipal corporations/municipalities. Information on the history of dog treatment with acaricides was obtained by interviewing dog owners. The larval packet test (LPT) and larval immersion test (LIT) were used on the larvae of ticks to test for resistance to cypermethrin and ivermectin, respectively. Mortality data of each tick population was analyzed by probit analysis. Corresponding to the most susceptible population, thirteen (92.6%) and six (42.9%) tick populations were regarded as resistant to cypermethrin and ivermectin, respectively. The phenotypic level of cypermethrin (resistance ratios at LC50% varied from 1.55 to 13.29) and ivermectin (resistance ratios at LC50% ranged from 1.16 to 4.79) resistance varied distinctly between the populations. Additionally, all the populations were tested using PCR to demonstrate the frequency of the point mutation in sodium channel gene that corresponds with resistance of R. sanguineus s.l. to cypermethrin. A nucleotide substitution (T2134C) on domain III segment VI of the sodium channel gene was noticed in phenotypically resistant tick populations on DNA sequencing. Ivermectin resistance in the brown dog ticks is reported for the first time from India.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Tirupati, India, for providing the facilities to do the research work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Parasitology, NTR College of Veterinary Science, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Gannavaram, 521102, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Prathyusha Sunkara, Sreedevi Chennuru & Jyothisree Chitichoti

  2. Department of Animal Genetics and Breeding, NTR College of Veterinary Science, Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University, Gannavaram, Andhra Pradesh, India

    Sudhakar Krovvidi

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  1. Prathyusha Sunkara
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  2. Sreedevi Chennuru
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  3. Sudhakar Krovvidi
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  4. Jyothisree Chitichoti
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Sreedevi Chennuru, Prathyusha Sunkara, Formal analysis: Sudhakar Krovvidi, Investigation: Prathyusha Sunkara, Krovvidi Sudhakar Methodology: Sreedevi Chennuru, Sudhkar Krovvidi, Jyothisree Chitichoti, Writing – original draft: Sreedevi Chennuru, Prathyusha Sunkara, Writing – review and editing: Sreedevi Chennuru, Sudhkar Krovvidi, Jyothisree Chitichoti.

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Correspondence to Sreedevi Chennuru.

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Ethical statement

No experimentation was conducted on animals. Ticks were collected from dogs attending to the veterinary dispensaries and hence doesn’t necessitate for ethical approval. Study animals were subjected to minimum stress while collecting ticks.

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Sunkara, P., Chennuru, S., Krovvidi, S. et al. Cypermethrin and ivermectin resistance in field populations of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Latrielle, 1806) collected from dogs in south India. Vet Res Commun 46, 67–78 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-021-09830-2

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