The study was carried out to determine the prevalence and intensity of tick infestation and haemoparasites in cattle within and around the SODEPA ranches (Livestock Development Corporation) in the Administrative Divisions of Faro & Deo (Adamawa region), Lom & Djerem (East region) in the Guinean high savannah agro-ecological zone and Donga-Mantung (North West region) in the western highland agro-ecological zone of Cameroon (Figure 1). The geographical and animal husbandry situations of the study regions are presented in Table 1 and Table 2.

The selection of cattle herds in the SODEPA Faro, Dumbo and Ndokayo ranches and those of willing local farmers in the environs of these SODEPA ranches during the study period, May to October 2021, was done using a random number generation technique from the list herds in the area [26] . Briefly, in each ranch, two large herds from among herds in the female camps to enable sufficient sampling of adult and young animals, and two herds from among herds in the adult male camps were included in the study. All individual animals in the chosen herds were sampled. Overall, tick and blood samples were collected from 742 cattle (409 Goudali and 333 Simgoud breeds; 337 males and 405 females; 90 young, 264 juveniles and 388 adults) corresponding to 268 cattle in Faro & Deo, Adamawa, 186 cattle in Lom & Djerem, East and 288 cattle in Donga-Mantung, North-West.

Following rigorous visual examination of tick on the preferred sites of the skin of the animals (anogenital, udder, perineum, abdomen, armpit and neck) [27] , all the ticks encountered on the animal’s body was harvested, by gently tapping at the rostrum and traction using a pair of forceps. The harvested ticks were stored in individual 5 ml labelled (identifying the sampled animal, anatomical region, and date of harvest) tubes containing 70% ethanol and 30% glycerol for analysis within 5 - 7 days in the parasitological laboratory of the Mission Spéciale d’Eradication des Glossines (MSEG) in N’Gaoundéré. Systemic phenotypic identification of the tick species was done using a binocular microscope and guided by reference tick images as previously described [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] .

Blood samples (5 ml) from each animal were collected by jugular vein puncture into EDTA tubes for haematological analysis (Haematocrit value) and detection of haemoparasites using standard procedures. Haematocrits were determined to assess the degree of anaemia while blood smeared slides were stained with MAY-GRÜNWALD GIEMSA and observed under a light microscope at x100 magnification to detect the presence of haemoparasites.

Source: Djoufack, 2011 [24] .

source: MINEPIA/DEPCS, 2020 [25] .

Information related to the breed, sex, age and body condition score of the sampled animals were noted. Estimation of ages was done by dental inspection and examination of the horn rings for animals without teeth (especially old/adult females) while the breed of the animals was obtained as previously described [33] [34] [35] . The body condition score was done by assessing the general appearance and palpation of the lumbar region of the animal on a scale of 1 to 5 and further classed into 3 categories: 1 - 2 (poor), 3 (good) and 4 - 5 (very good) as previously described [36] .

Risk assessments of the project were performed by the researchers to avoid hazards to all persons involved in the project. Permission for the study was obtained from the required authorities in Cameroon including the MINEPIA delegations in Adamawa, East and Northwest and North Regions, SODEPA Cameroon (SODEPA Faro, Dumbo and Ndokayo ranches) and the Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Sciences of the University of Dschang, Cameroon. The purpose of the study was explained (with the assistance of local community leaders and trusted intermediaries) to cattle professionals with herds in the environs of the SODEPA ranches used in this study. Animals and farms were used in the study after informed consent was given by the owners.

The data were analysed using SPSS 21.1 statistical software. Simple percentages were generated and Chi-square test was used to assess the association between factors and the odds-ratios determined for associated risk factors along 95% confidence intervals [26] [37] . The statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

In this study, of the 742 cattle sampled 566 (76.28%, 95% CI: 73.00 - 79.56) animals were infested with ticks. Locality, age, breed and sex had significant effects (P < 0.05) on the prevalence of tick infestation in cattle in the study. Tick infestation was significantly higher in the Adamawa region (99.25%) than in the other 2 regions, in adult animals over 24 months of age (86.34%), in the Simgoud breed (79.87%) and in males (82.49%) (Table 3).

Microscopic examination of ticks taken from the cattle sampled revealed the presence of three genera (4 species) of ticks, including Amblyomma variegatum (75.09%), Rhipicephalus microplus (19.43%), Rhipicephalus decoloratus (0.88%) and Hyalomma marginatum (0.18%). There are also associations of ticks on the same animal. This was the case for A. variegatum/R. microplus (4.06%) and A. variegatum/H. marginatum (0.36%) (Table 4).

In this study, of the 742 cattle sampled 682 (91.91%, 95% CI) animals were infected with tick-borne blood diseases. Locality, age, and breed had significant effects (P < 0.05) on the prevalence of tick-borne disease infection in cattle in the study while sex did not a significant effect (P > 0.05). Tick-borne disease infections were significantly higher in the East region (97.31%) than in the other 2 regions, in juvenile animals between 7 to 24 months of age (93.94%) and in the Simgoud breed (93.69%) (Table 5).

CT: Contingency test, ns: non-significant, *: significant.

#: number cattle infested by tick, *: proportion (%) of infested cattle.

Microscopic examination of blood smears taken from the cattle sampled revealed the presence of three genera (5 species) of tick-borne blood diseases, including Babesia bovis (1.32%), Babesia major (0.44%), Anaplasma marginale (11.29%), Anaplasma phagocytophylum (0.29%) and Ehrlichia ruminantium (3.52%). There are also many associations of tick-borne diseases on the same animal. This represents the vast majority of tick-borne blood diseases (79.77%). We also identified Dermatophilus congolensis (3.37%), which is not a tick-borne blood disease but is strongly associated with the presence of Amblyomma variegatum (Table 6).

CT: Contingency test, ns: non-significant, *: significant.

#: number of cattle infected by haemoparasites, *: proportion (%) of infected cattle.

The results obtained from the frequency of this tick in the different regions of 75.09% show the abundance of this tick and are similar to those obtained from 46.3% to 73.8% [39] - [45] . These same authors found that it is practically the most widespread in several African countries. However, [46] found that the genus Rhipicephalus (80.60%) was more important than Amblyomma (19.31%). This tick thrives in the warmer regions of Africa. We note that it is less significant in the north-west, which is a mountainous area with low average annual temperatures compared with the other two regions.

The results obtained for this tick are 19.43% overall. However, it is very prevalent in the North West region, where 57.07% of animals are infested with this species, in contrast to the other two regions, where it was only mentioned very rarely. This prevalence is not far from the results obtained by numerous authors in several countries, including Cameroon [41] [43] , which vary from 15.6% to 24.11%. This confirms the presence of this highly invasive species in Cameroon [47] .

The results obtained from the presence of this tick, concentrated in the north-west with a very low prevalence of around 0.18%, are similar to those obtained from several studies which only mention its presence without mentioning a precise prevalence. These include [39] [48] [49] . However, other authors have given prevalence ranging from 1.8% to 13.8% [45] [50] [51] .

The results we obtained (0.88%) were founded only in the north-west among adults. However, several studies have mentioned its presence (20.1% to 50.6%) in various regions of Africa [38] [44] [52] [53] . Our results are higher than obtained in north-west Cameroon (0.4%) by [39] .

The results obtained in the different regions mentioning the presence of babesiosis, anaplasmosis, richetsiosis and dermatophilosis are caused by several germs sometimes associated with each other on the same animal.

We encountered two germs, Babesia bovis (1.3%) and Babesia major (0.44%), especially in the East region. The results are not very far from those obtained in small ruminants (2.9%) in the Adamawa region [41] . This disease is usually mentioned in the records of the veterinary services in all regions where cattle are reared.

We encountered two germs, Anaplasma marginale (11.29%) and Anaplasma phagocytophilum (0.29%), respectively in the three regions for the former and only in Adamawa for the latter. The prevalence of Anaplasma marginale is similar to the results obtained for small ruminants (9.1%) in Adamawa [41] . This species is the most pathogenic of its genus [54] .

The results obtained for the prevalence of around 3.52% are different from those obtained in a study carried out in Benin using molecular analysis of ticks, which revealed the germ with an overall prevalence in ticks of 10.8% [49] and 28.4% [55] . This may be due to the different techniques used, as we worked on the animals and not on the ticks. In addition, there is a correlation between the presence of this germ and the environment.