Ticks and associated pathogens in camels (Camelus dromedarius) from Riyadh Province, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Camel production in Saudi Arabia is severely affected by various diseases and by inadequate veterinary services. Ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) affect the health and wellbeing of camels consequently diminishing their productivity and performances. In addition, camels may act as hosts for TBPs (e.g. Anaplasma phagocytophilum) causing diseases in humans. The current study aimed to determine the prevalence of ixodid ticks and molecularly investigate the associated pathogens in camels from Saudi Arabia. Methods: Blood and tick samples were collected from camels (n = 170) in Riyad Province of Saudi Arabia. Ticks were morphologically identified, and blood of camels were molecularly screened for apicomplexan (i.e. Babesia spp., Theileria spp., Hepatozoon spp.) and rickettsial parasites (i.e. Ehrlichia spp. and Anaplasma spp.). Results: Of the 170 camels examined, 116 (68.2%; 95% CI: 60.9-75.1%) were infested by ticks with a mean intensity of 2.53 (95% CI: 2.4-2.6). In total of 296 ticks collected, Hyalomma dromedarii was the most prevalent (76.4%), followed by Hyalomma impeltatum (23.3%) and Hyalomma excavatum (0.3%). Of the tested animals, 13 (7.6%; 95% CI: 4.3-12.8%) scored positive to at least one TBP, with Anaplasma platys (5.3%; 95% CI: 2.7-9.9%) being the most prevalent species, followed by Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Anaplasma sp., Ehrlichia canis and Hepatozoon canis (0.6% each; 95% CI: 0.04-3.4%). None of the camels were found to be co-infected with more than one pathogen. All samples tested negative for Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. Conclusions: The present study reveals the occurrence of different tick species and TBPs in camels from Saudi Arabia. Importantly, these camels may carry A. phagocytophilum and A. platys, representing a potential risk to humans.

Application of advanced molecular techniques to detect vector borne pathogens from stray dogs and cats in two different climatic zones of Saudi Arabia

“…All of the 74 dogs tested from Riyadh province were negativeforall testedpathogens, while 45 previously been recorded in dogs from Qatar [30] and Iran [35].…”

“…sanguineus has been reported in low prevalence in domestic and wild animals including dogs and cats fromcentral parts of Saudi Arabia [6,39,40], along with western and southern Saudi Arabia [41,42,43]. The climate of Saudi Arabia has shown to be potentially suitable to the perpetuation of vectors and transmission of several arthropod-borne diseases [44,45]. Indeed the environmental conditions of Saudi Arabia aresuitablefor the development of different tick species due to wide range of climatic conditions [46].…”

Molecular detection of Candidatus Anaplasma camelii in camels (Camelus dromedarius) from Asir Province, Saudi Arabia

“…Recently, many studies have used molecular tools to screen and identify these pathogens worldwide in camel hosts and their tick vectors (Mazyad and Khalaf, 2002;Sloboda et al, 2011;Qablan et al, 2012;Belkahia et al, 2015;Khamesipour et al, 2015;Li et al, 2015;Lorusso et al, 2016;Ait Lbacha et al, 2017;Alsarraf et al, 2017;Sharifiyazdi et al, 2017;Azmat et al, 2018;Bahrami et al, 2018;Noaman, 2018;Azeem et al, 2019;Sazmand et al, 2019;Selmi et al, 2019;Selmi et al, 2020). In Saudi Arabia, very few studies concerned with these pathogens in camels have been performed (Al-Khalifa et al, 2009;Ghafar and Shobrak, 2014;Mostafa and Dajem, 2014;Bastos et al, 2015;Alanazi et al, 2018;Alanazi et al, 2020). Al-Khalifa et al (2009) found that camels in the Asir region were free from blood parasites.…”

“…DNA. Alanazi et al (2020) reported several pathogens (e.g. Anaplasma platys, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Anaplasma sp., Ehrlichia canis and Hepatozoon canis) in camels from Riyadh Province.…”

“…Previous studies on ticks in Saudi Arabia have shown that there are more than 20 ixodid species and subspecies that infest domestic animals including camels (Hoogstraal et al, 1981;Diab, 1986, Alanazi et al, 2019). However, knowledge of molecular identification of tick-borne pathogens in domestic animals including camels in Saudi Arabia is very limited, since few molecular epidemiological studies have been undertaken (Alanazi et al, 2014;Ismael et al, 2014;Mohammed et al, 2017;Alanazi et al, 2018;Salim et al, 2019;Alanazi et al, 2020). Therefore, the aim of this study was to detect Anaplasma spp.…”