Prevalence of selected tick‐borne pathogens in wild ungulates and ticks in southern Spain

Abstract

A survey study was carried out to assess the occurrence of selected tick‐borne pathogens (TBP) in wild ungulates in Mediterranean ecosystems in southern Spain. Spleen samples were collected from 1,132 wild ungulates, including 578 red deer, 269 wild boar, 135 mouflon, 121 fallow deer and 29 roe deer, between 2009 and 2015. Eighty‐nine ticks collected from TBP‐positive animals were also analysed. Samples were tested by PCR and sequenced whenever possible. TBP DNA was detected in 127 of 863 wild ruminants (14.7%; 95% CI: 12.4–17.3) including the following: Anaplasma phagocytophilum (9.2%), Babesia divergens (2.9%), Theileria sp. OT3 (1.7%), Borrelia afzelii (0.7%) and Theileria capreoli (0.2%), but no positive samples were detected in wild boar (0/269). All the strains from mouflon were identified as Theileria sp. OT3, while B. divergens and T. capreoli were mainly found in red deer. Co‐infection with A. phagocytophilum and B. divergens, and A. phagocytophilum and Theileria spp. was detected in red deer and mouflon, respectively. The risk factor analysis showed that the prevalences of A. phagocytophilum and piroplasms were species‐related. Eighty‐nine tick specimens collected from ungulates found to be infected with the selected TBP were identified as Hyalomma lusitanicum (95.5%) and Ixodes ricinus (4.5%). Thirty ticks were positive for Anaplasma/Ehrlichia spp. (33.7%), 25 for Babesia/Theileria (28.1%) and two for B. burgdorferi s.l. (2.3%). Eleven specimens showed co‐infections with Anaplasma/Ehrlichia and Babesia/Theileria (10.1%) or Anaplasma/Ehrlichia and B. burgdorferi s.l. (2.3%). The estimated prevalences obtained in the present study suggest the possible contribution of wild ruminants to the maintenance of some selected TBP in Mediterranean ecosystems in southern Spain, while the role of wild boar in the epidemiology of these pathogens seems to be limited in this region.

Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Wild and Farmed Cervids in Poland

“…The infection rate of A. phagocytophilum in all cervids was shown to be lower than in other European countries [ 4 , 18 , 28 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 ], lower rates, compared to the results of this study were recorded only in Spain, Czech Republic and Italy [ 31 , 34 , 35 , 36 ]. Outside Europe, A. phagocytophilum has been detected in deer from Japan, with a prevalence ranging from 15.6 to 75.4%; our results lie in the middle of this range [ 37 , 38 ].…”

“…Genetic marker 16S rDNA is most commonly used to detect Anaplasma phagocytophilum among wild and farm animals [ 17 , 18 , 36 , 39 , 44 ]. In this study, three different variants of partial 16S rDNA genetic marker were found ( Table S2 ).…”

Metagenomics of the midgut microbiome of Rhipicephalus microplus from China

“…Anaplasma , which belongs to the family Anaplasmataceae and is transmitted by arthropod vectors, can cause severe anemia [ 62 ]. Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a zoonotic pathogen found in the granulocytes of animals and humans which can infect human peripheral blood neutrophils and lead to tick-borne diseases and symptoms of human granulocytic anaplasmosis, such as fever accompanied by leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and functional impairment [ 63 ].…”

Babesia and Theileria Identification in Adult Ixodid Ticks from Tapada Nature Reserve, Portugal

“…Six different tick species were collected from fallow and red deer in Tapada, Portugal. These tick species occur across the Iberian Peninsula [15,29,[38][39][40][41] and five of them, I. ricinus, R. sanguineus, H. lusitanicum, H. punctata, and D. marginatus, have been previously associated with fallow and red deer in Portugal [29]. The finding of the hedgehog tick, I. hexagonus, on fallow deer is unusual, though it has been reported previously on roe deer [42].…”

“…While roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) are considered the natural hosts of B. venatorum [9,10], cattle are the main reservoirs of B. divergens and frequently suffer clinical disease (redwater fever) as a consequence of infection [11]. B. divergens-like DNA sequences have also been reported in red deer, roe deer, reindeer (Rangifer tarandus), and fallow deer [9,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18], but there is some uncertainty about the precise identity of these parasites and, so far, there is no evidence that Babesia isolates from deer are infectious for either humans or cattle [12,19].…”