Molecular Investigation of Tick-Borne Haemoparasites Isolated from Indigenous Zebu Cattle in the Tanga Region, Tanzania

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are a major hindrance to livestock production in pastoral communities of Africa. Although information on tick-borne infections is necessary for setting up control measures, this information is limited in the pastoral communities of Tanzania. Therefore, this study aimed to provide an overview of the tick-borne infections in the indigenous cattle of Tanzania. A total of 250 blood samples were collected from the indigenous zebu cattle in the Tanga region, Tanzania. Then, we conducted a molecular survey using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and gene sequencing to detect and identify the selected tick-borne pathogens. The PCR was conducted using assays, based on Theileria spp. (18S rRNA), Theileria parva (p104), Theileria mutans and T. taurotragi (V4 region of the 18S rRNA), Babesia bigemina (RAP-1a), B. bovis (SBP-2), Anaplasma marginale (heat shock protein groEL) and Ehrlichia ruminantium (pCS20). The PCR screening revealed an overall infection rate of (120/250, 48%) for T. mutans, (64/250, 25.6%) for T. parva, (52/250, 20.8%) for T. taurotragi, (33/250, 13.2%) for B. bigemina and (81/250, 32.4%) for A. marginale. Co-infections of up to four pathogens were revealed in 44.8% of the cattle samples. A sequence analysis indicated that T. parva p104 and A. marginale groEL genes were conserved among the sampled animals with sequence identity values of 98.92–100% and 99.88%–100%, respectively. Moreover, the B. bigemina RAP-1a gene and the V4 region of the 18S rRNA of T. mutans genes were diverse among the sampled cattle, indicating the sequence identity values of 99.27%–100% and 22.45%–60.77%, respectively. The phylogenetic analyses revealed that the T. parva (p104) and A. marginale (groEL) gene sequences of this study were clustered in the same clade. In contrast, the B. bigemina (RAP-1a) and the T. mutans V4 region of the 18S rRNA gene sequences appeared in the different clades. This study provides important basement data for understanding the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases and will serve as a scientific basis for planning future control strategies in the study area.

Molecular evaluation and genetic diversity of bovine tick-borne pathogens in southern Malawi

“…The documentation of T. parva in ve of the six non-endemic sampling districts suggests that the pathogen has geographically spread out in Malawi. The reported prevalence is considerably lower than previously reported at one site (33%) [23], in Tanzania (34.4% and 41.2%) [27,38], and in Zambia (24.4%) [39]. This might be due to differences in tickvector activity seasons and sample collection periods, among other things.…”

“…A total reaction mastermix volume of 10 µL containing 0.2 µL of 10 µM of every primer, 2 µL of One Taq 5× buffer (New England Biolabs, Ipswich, UK), 0.2 µL of deoxynucleotide triphosphates (10mM dNTPs) mix, 0.05 µL of one Taq DNA polymerase, 1 µL of template DNA sample, and 6.35 µL of UltraPure™ water (Invitrogen, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA). A prior study's PCR-positive samples served as the positive control [27], while UltraPure TM water served as the negative control for quality control. A VeritiPro™ thermocycler (Applied Biosystems, Massachusetts, USA) was used to run the reaction mixtures with ampli cation conditions from prior research (Table 1).…”

Molecular Detection and Phylogenetic Analyses of <em>Babesia</em> spp. and <em>Theileria</em> spp. In Livestock in Bangladesh

“…MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions, or products referred to in the content. and T. velifera are also reported to cause bovine theileriosis in Africa [9,10]. Theileria annulata causes lymphoproliferative disease [11] manifested by fever, inappetence, lymphadenopathy, icterus, tachycardia, dyspnoea and weakness [12].…”

Molecular Detection and Phylogenetic Analyses of Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. in Livestock in Bangladesh

“…Theileria parva causes East Coast Fever (ECF) in eastern, central and southern Africa, whereas T. annulata causes tropical (Mediterranean) theileriosis in North Africa, southern Europe and Asia [ 8 ]. Moreover, T. mutans , T. tautoragi and T. velifera are also reported to cause bovine theileriosis in Africa [ 9 , 10 ]. Theileria annulata causes lymphoproliferative disease [ 11 ] manifested by fever, inappetence, lymphadenopathy, icterus, tachycardia, dyspnoea and weakness [ 12 ].…”