Ticks collection
Ticks were collected manually from domestic animals (goats, sheep,
cattle and horses) by using forceps into 50 mL Nalgene tubes that
contained 70% ethanol taking precautionary measures to avoid mix-up of
samples on the basis of animals and collection sites as tubes were
properly labelled accordingly and were stored at 4°C until further
processing (Iweriebor et al., 2017). All tick species collected were
identified using morphological criteria and appropriate taxonomic keys
and processed accordingly (Iweriebor et al., 2017; Yawa et al., 2019;
Walker et al., 2003; Williamson et al., 2010). Ticks genders were not
taken into consideration as it does not affect its ability to transmit
pathogens