First report of Anaplasma marginale infection in goats, Brazil

Abstract

Anaplasma marginale, the causative agent of bovine anaplasmosis, is a tick-borne bacterium that causes significant economic losses for cattle industries and is increasingly being detected in other animal species. Rhipicephalus microplus is the main vector of this bacterium and may be found parasitizing small ruminants. In northeastern Brazil, multispecies grazing is a common family subsistence practice on smallholder farms possibly facilitating interspecies transmission of pathogens. Considering that A. marginale infection has been previously molecularly described in sheep, this study has aimed to estimate the prevalence of A. marginale and factors associated with the infection in goats from northeastern Brazil. A total of 403 goat blood samples were included in the study. An epidemiological questionnaire was applied to each farm owner addressing age, gender, presence of ticks and multispecies grazing. All samples were screened for A. marginale- and A. ovis-infection using primers targeting the Anaplasma spp. msp4 gene. The identity of A. marginale in the blood was confirmed by PCR amplification of msp5 followed by sequencing. Anaplasma spp. were differentiated by sequencing of the repeat region of the msp1α gene. For the statistical analysis the Chi-square or the Fisher’s exact test was used to verify association of the individual factors (age, gender, presence of ticks, and multispecies grazing) with Anaplasma spp. infection. We report the first molecular detection of A. marginale in goats from northeastern Brazil, based on msp1α, msp4 and msp5 gene sequencing analysis. Sequencing of the detected A. marginale msp1α gene revealed the F repeat. Amblyomma parvum and R. microplus were found feeding on animals.

Climate change implications for the distribution of the babesiosis and anaplasmosis tick vector, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus

“…Babesiosis and anaplasmosis may be related to the same environmental factors as R. microplus because they depend on this tick as a main vector [6][7][8]. Different wild animals serve as hosts for this tick; the best-studied is the white-tailed deer Odocoileus virginianus [3]: livestock reservoirs of these pathogens include goats [4]. Host species are important for dispersal, although this tick is not a specialized ectoparasite; this generalist habit facilitates dispersal by wild and livestock animals [6][7][8].…”

“…Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus is the most important tick in transmission of bovine parasitic diseases around the world [1]. The principal hosts for this species are cattle, but interactions have been shown with buffalo, horses, donkeys, dogs, deer, sheep, and goats [2][3][4]. High incidence of this tick is associated with economic losses, particularly in cattle [5].…”

Survey of vector-borne and nematode parasites involved in the etiology of anemic syndrome in sheep from Southern Brazil

“…by PCR. Although there are no reports on the detection of A. ovis and A. marginale or piroplasm infection in sheep from Brazil, A. marginale has been detected in goats co-grazed with cattle in the northeastern region of the country (Da Silva et al, 2018). Anaplasma marginale is a common tick-borne pathogen that primarily infects cattle from tropical and subtropical areas (Kocan et al, 2010), being transmitted by R. microplus ticks in Brazil (Kessler, 2001).…”

“…Anaplasma marginale, the causative agent of bovine anaplasmosis, has been detected in goats from the northeastern region of Brazil (Da Silva et al, 2018) and sheep from Iran (Yousefi et al, 2017). However, the epidemiological and clinical effects of A. marginale infection in small ruminants remain to be fully established.…”

“…To date A. ovis has never been reported infecting small ruminants in Brazil. Despite the high host specificity of Rhipicephalus microplus to cattle (Dantas-Torres et al, 2009;Ma et al, 2016), this tick species may be found parasitizing small ruminants (Brito et al, 2005;Da Silva et al, 2018).…”