Epidemiological study of small ruminant mange mites in three agro-ecological zones of Wolaita, Southern Ethiopia

An epidemiological study of small ruminant mange mites was conducted in three selected agro-ecological zones of Wolaita, Southern Ethiopia, from November 2007 to April 2008. A total of 352 sheep and 376 goats were examined for mange mites infestation, of which 7 (1.98%) and 22 (5.85%) sheep and goats were found positive respectively. The genuses of mange mites identified with this study were Demodex (1.23%) and Sarcoptes (2.61%) of these the genus Sarcoptes was more prevalent in the study area. The prevalence of mange mites was significantly higher in goats than in sheep (F=7.141, P=0.008). But age (X2 =0.108, P=0.743) and sex (X2 =0.007, P=0.79) of the host animals not affected the prevalence of mange mite (There was higher infestation of small ruminant in the lowland area (F=7.463, P=0.006). Keywords: small ruminant, mange mite, Agro-ecolog