Background: Ticks are considered important vectors of human infectious diseases worldwide. They tack blood meals on livestock and transmit dangerous diseases such as Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) and Mediterranean spotted fever (MSF), and thus threaten human health.
South Khorasan province is considered as an important focus for CCHF and MSF diseases; however, there is scant information on the epidemiological data regarding these diseases. Identification of hard tick species and their hosts are essential for planning of control and prevention programs of tick borne diseases in this province.Objectives: This study aims to determine the ticks fauna and frequency in livestock of South Khorasan.Materials and Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study which was conducted in 2018, samples of hard ticks were collected from livestock in 5 districts of
South Khorasan province through cluster sampling method. Ticks were collected monthly fromspring to autumn and stored at -20 OC until laboratory survey. Species of ticks were identified by standard current keys. The frequency of ticks in different animal hosts and seasons were analyzed by SPSS software.Results: In this study, 977 ticks were collected from camels, sheep, cows and goats, including Hyalomma spp (Hy. dromedarii (40.5%), Hy. analeticum (30.7%), Hy. marginatum (12.5%), Hy. asciaticum (6.8%), Hy. schulzei (4.4%), Hy. detritum (3.2%), Hy. scupense (1.1%)), Rhipicephalus spp (Rh. bursa (0.3%), Rh. sanguineus (0.2%)), and Haemaphysalis spp (Ha. concina (0.2%), Ha. punctate (0.1%)). The frequencies of collected ticks in sheep, goats, cows and camels were 70%, 10.7%, 10% and 9.3% respectively. The majority of ticks were collected from Jun through September.Conclusion: Since the Hyalomma ticks specially Hy. dromaderi and Hy. anatolicum have the highest frequency from Jun - September, in the studied areas and these ticks are known as main vector and reservoirs of CCHF and MSF diseases, we suggest that health authorities design appropriate plans to identify, prevent and control of tick species as well as promote the essential care and inform the residents about the CCHF and MSF diseases in this province.