Molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens in cattle from Southwestern Ethiopia

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) cause significant losses among livestock and impact the livelihoods of resource-poor farming communities worldwide. In Ethiopia, detailed studies on the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in cattle using sensitive molecular detection methods are scarce. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and species composition of bovine TBPs of veterinary significance in local cattle populations. A comprehensive cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted in cattle populations of Illubabor zone in Southwestern Ethiopia from June to August 2013. For this purpose, blood samples were collected from 392 cattle. A combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a Reverse Line Blot (RLB) hybridization assay was employed for the detection of TBPs in these samples. The PCR/RLB results of the 392 blood samples indicated a high overall prevalence of 96.9% for TBPs, including Theileria mutans (66.1%), Theileria orientalis (51.8%), Anaplasma sp. Omatjenne (25.5%), Anaplasma marginale (14.5%), Babesia bigemina (14.0%) and Theileria velifera (13.0%) and minor occurrences of Ehrlichia ruminantium (0.5%) and Ehrlichia minasensis (0.26%). Moreover, three novel Anaplasma genotypes were detected in bovine blood samples. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that they most likely represent three, but at least two, new species. The prevalence of the three novel Anaplasma species, preliminary designated as Anaplasma sp. Hadesa, Anaplasma sp. Saso and Anaplasma sp. Dedessa, was 12.5%, 14.3% and 5.6%, respectively. Overall, a total of 227 cattle (57.9%) were found to be co-infected with two or more TBPs simultaneously and 86 different species combinations were observed. The findings show a very high burden of infection of cattle with TBPs in Ethiopia. The high frequency of co-infections suggests that clinical manifestations might be complex. Further research is required to determine the pathogenicity, host cell types and vector of the three novel Anaplasma species identified in this study.

First detection of Ehrlichia minasensis in Hyalomma marginatum ticks collected from cattle in Corsica, France

“…This is also the first description of E. minasensis in H. marginatum tick. So far, it has been reported in haemolymph of R. microplus ticks (Cabezas-Cruz et al 2016), and in blood of an apparently healthy cattle in Ethiopia, where R. microplus is not described (Hailemariam et al 2017). Interestingly, H. marginatum is present in Ethiopia (ECDC.EURO-PA.EU, 2018).…”

Epidemiology and genotyping of Anaplasma marginale and co-infection with piroplasms and other Anaplasmataceae in cattle and buffaloes from Egypt

“…Reverse line blot hybridization assay (RLB) was performed as previously described [13] for the simultaneous detection of several tick-borne pathogens including Theileria spp., Babesia spp., Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., Rickettsia spp. and Midichloria mitochondrii.…”

Sequencing-based phylogenetic-study of Babesia spp detected in tick tissues in Al-Diwaniyah province, Iraq

“…However; relying on a high-error tool may lead to obtain false-negative results especially when having low numbers of parasites in blood samples of the tested animals that could be happened in subclinical and carrier cases. Microscopic diagnosis, sometimes, misses the capabilities to recognize between species level leaving the door open for indefinite diagnosis (6). For better diagnosis and identification of Babesia spp, molecular-based techniques such as PCR and sequencing of a specific-piece of sequence of a specific gene such as 18S rRNA gene are needed to promote the processes of correct characterization, identification, and diagnosis of Babesia species that affect animals.…”