Ectoparasites crawling on a host near you: a case series of ectoparasites in central Oklahoma

Abstract

Ectoparasites on wild raptors and mammals pose a threat to the health of the animal, and possibly to the surrounding community should the ectoparasite be a vector for a zoonotic pathogen. Studies examining ectoparasites of wildlife in Central Oklahoma are limited in number. The survey was conducted by removing ectoparasites off of exotic in-patients at OSU’s veterinary hospital and preserving the parasites in 70% ethyl alcohol. The total number of cases included 22 host species with a total of 51 animals: 32 raptors and 19 mammals. The ectoparasitic collections resulted in 220 individual ectoparasites; with a diversity of 14 lice species, 4 hematophagous fly species, 4 tick species, and 4 flea species. 14 lice, 4 hematophagous fly, and 3 tick species were identified from the raptors, and 4 tick and 4 flea species were identified from the mammals. Ten species of lice and one hematophagous fly species have never been reported in Oklahoma. Of the ectoparasites surveyed, 4 tick, 3 hematophagous fly, and 3 flea species are potential vectors of zoonotic disease pathogens.