Ectoparasites of livestock and companion animals in New Zealand

Authors: Heath ACG
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 50, Issue 3 Supplement, pp 48, Jun 2002
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Cat, Cattle, Companion animal, Dog, Horse, Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant, Sheep
Subject Terms: Inflammation, Integument/skin/wool/hair/fur/feather, Disease/defect, Notifiable organisms/exotic disease, Parasites - external, Pest/pesticides
Article class: Summary

---

Abstract: Principal livestock species in New Zealand, namely sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, horses and deer, are hosts, collectively to at least 45 species of ectoparasites, whereas companion animals such as dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and ferrets, share about 30 species. Tenquist and Charleston (2001) provide a host/parasite checklist of all species, together with limited information on distribution and aspects of nomenclature. Many of the parasites are not hostspecific and none is restricted to New Zealand. There is only one recorded eradication, that of the sheep scab mite, Psoroptes ovis, but the sheep ked, Melophagus ovinus, is very rare. Blowflies that initiate flystrike, the sheep biting-louse, Bovicola ovis, and the cattle tick, Haemaphysalis longicornis, are the most economically damaging of the ectoparasites that occur in New Zealand and incur production losses and control costs of about $60 million annually (Cole and Heath 1999). Comprehensive reviews of their biology, epidemiology, pathology and control strategies, together with information on some parasites….

---