Background Anaplasma and Ehrlichia are emerging tick-borne pathogens that cause anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis in humans and other animals worldwide. Infections caused by these pathogens are deadly if left untreated. There has been relatively no systematic survey of these pathogens among ticks in South Africa, thus necessitating this study. The presence of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species were demonstrated by PCR in ticks collected from domestic ruminants at some selected communities in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. The ticks were identified by morphological characteristics and thereafter processed to extract bacterial DNA, which was analyzed for the presence of genetic materials of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia.ResultsThree genera of ticks comprising five species were identified. The screening yielded 16 positive genetic materials that were phylogenetically related to Ehrlichia sequences obtained from GenBank, while no positive result was obtained for Anaplasma. The obtained Ehrlichia sequences were closely related to E. chaffeensis, E. canis, E. muris and the incompletely described Ehrlichia sp. UFMG-EV and Ehrlichia sp. UFMT.ConclusionThe findings showed that ticks in the studied areas were infected with Ehrlichia spp. and that the possibility of transmission to humans who might be tick infested is high.

No abstract

Euryops brevipapposus (Asteraceae) is a medicinal plant of a local community utilized traditionally for its recognized effectiveness in managing non-communicable diseases, especially asthma. The traditional use of E. brevipapposus lacks scientific evidence and the increased burden of asthma makes confirming this claim paramount. The study characterized by GC-MS the bioactive compounds of E. brevipapposus essential oil (EbO) extracted with Clevenger apparatus. The antibacterial efficacy and antioxidant activity by free radical scavenging ability were investigated in vitro using standard methods. A strong antioxidant IC50 value of 6.71 × 10-7 mg/mL of oil was obtained for DPPH. The antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Vibrio spp. (MIC value of 0.055 mg/mL) was superior. GC-MS analysis of EbO showed α-phellandrene, α-pinene, germacrene D, β-pinene, β-mycrene, (E)-β-ocimene and bicyclogermacrene as the major compounds. The antioxidant and antibacterial potentials of E. brevipapposus may justify the therapeutic claims and local usage of this plant.