Tick infestations on Zebu cattle in western Kenya: quantitative assessment of host resistance.

Groups of previously tick-exposed East African Zebu cattle together with tick-susceptible Friesian steers as controls were artificially infested with adults, nymphs, and larvae of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus Neumann on two occasions. Comparison of the feeding performance data from the two different breeds of cattle showed significant differences in the number and weight of engorged females and the weight of engorged nymphs. Data from the first challenge were used to derive a function for discriminating between resistant and susceptible categories. The use of the function gave repeatable results on resistance rankings when compared with original ranking of cattle based on natural tick counts following natural exposure. The function was converted into an index that could then be used to monitor the seasonal and annual fluctuations in tick resistance rankings of individual animals in a herd.