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A three-year-old male South China tiger died in the tiger enclosure of the China Tiger Park in the Meihua Mountains on December 2018 after being bitten by a tick. This tiger presented clinical symptoms like whole-body severe jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, kidney, and lymph node hemorrhages. The Colpodella sp.-specific 18S rRNA gene was detected using nested PCR. Interestingly, the DNA isolated from the blood of the tiger was found to be 100% similar to that of the tick by NCBI BLAST analysis. However, the DNA fragments isolated from the tiger's blood were 90.1% similar to the Colpodella sp. strain human erythrocyte parasite (HEP, MH208621) and 90.4% similar to the Colpodella sp. strain Heilongjiang (HLJ, KT364261). To investigate the species of ticks and ticks-carried Colpodella parasites in this region, the species of ticks obtained from the grasses outside the tiger enclosure and the species of Colpodella carried by ticks were identified. The DNA from ticks as well as that from the tick-borne Colpodella sp. were amplified from each tick using PCR followed by amplicon sequencing. In total 402 adult ticks samples were collected, among which 22 were positive for Colpodella sp. (5.5%), and the species were further determined by morphology, DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analyses. Interestingly, one Colpodella sp. was found to have 94.2% sequence similarities to the Colpodella sp. strain HEP (MH208621). This strain was previously reported to infect a woman in Yunnan, China. In addition, three Colpodella sp. showed 87-91% sequence similarities to the Colpodella sp. strain HLJ (KT364261), which was previously reported to infect human in Heilongjiang, China. This study disclosed the possibility of zoonotic transmission of Colpodella sp. by ticks in China. Finally, it provides a basis for urgently determining and monitoring the repertoire of ticks-borne piroplasmid pathogens, with the ultimate aim of strategic control.

Parasitic infections of the South China tigers in the Meihua Mountains have not been explored previously. Faeces of 22 South China tigers from the China Tiger Park in the Meihua Mountains were examined. Eggs of ascaridoid nematodes and oocysts of coccidia were detected by Mini-FLOTAC assay. Morphological observation and molecular characterisation of the oocysts were carried out. The prevalence of Toxascaris leonina (von Linstow, 1902) was 18% (4/22), and the highest egg per gram (EPG) count in the faeces was 27,150. The prevalence of Cystoisospora sp. was 45% (1 0/22) and the highest oocysts per gram (OPG) in the faeces was 6,000. In addition, we found one ascaridoid nematode in the South China tiger's faeces and was molecularly and morphologically identified as T. leonina. The oocysts in the faeces were sporulated in vitro and identified as Cystoisospora sp. Amplification of full-length internal transcribed spacers (ITS) resulted in sequences 1,622 bp long. Using the sequences, Cystoisospora sp. of the South China tiger was closest to Isospora belli (Wenyon, 1923) and Cystoisospora suis (Biester, 1934).

The zoonotic risk and genetic diversity of Enterocytozoon bieneusi (E. bieneusi) and its infection in wildlife were investigated. A total of 70 fecal samples were collected from the South China Tiger Breeding Research Institute in Meihua Mountains and the Fuzhou Zoo of China in Fujian Province. E. bieneusi was assayed on the basis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) sensor. Four positive isolates of E. bieneusi were detected (5.7%) from three sika deer and one species of the Hylobatidae family (gibbons). Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of ITS indicated two genotypes, namely, BEB6 and Type IV at MS1, MS3, MS4, and MS7. Type IV belongs to Group 1 with zoonotic potential. The amplification efficiency at the MS1, MS3, MS4, and MS7 sites was 50% (2/4). Among the four positive isolates, two positive isolates of sika deer were amplified simultaneously at the four sites. Nucleotide sequence analyses showed 1, 2, 1, and 2 nucleotide variant haplotypes at the MS1, MS3, MS4, and MS7 sites, respectively. In the 1, 2, 1, and 2 genotypes, two multilocus genotypes (MLGs) were formed. The comprehensive measures for determining the genetic diversity of E. bieneusi contribute to preventing or controlling the global spread of E. bieneusi in wildlife.