Molecular characterization of Rickettsia spp., Bartonella spp., and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in hard ticks collected from wild animals in Benin, West Africa
Tick and tick-borne pathogens constitute a growing veterinary and public health concern around the world. Ticks are considered natural reservoirs for tick-borne related pathogens and are equally responsible for the spread of infections in animals as well as humans. In this study, the presence of Ric...
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Published in | Tropical animal health and production Vol. 54; no. 5; p. 306 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Dordrecht
Springer Netherlands
01.10.2022
Springer Nature B.V |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Tick and tick-borne pathogens constitute a growing veterinary and public health concern around the world. Ticks are considered natural reservoirs for tick-borne related pathogens and are equally responsible for the spread of infections in animals as well as humans. In this study, the presence of
Rickettsia
,
Bartonella
, and
Anaplasma phagocytophilum
was investigated in hard ticks collected from reptiles, birds, and wild mammalian animals. The sample collection was carried out between December 2020 and September 2021. Adult ticks (male and female) were collected from wild animals in six districts of southern Benin. Molecular analysis was used to verify the presence of pathogens in all the ticks collected from wild animals. A total of 504 ticks were collected and grouped into 115 different tick pools. The PCR analysis detected 19 out of 115 tick pools which turn out positive for
Rickettsia
spp. and 9/115 tick pools positive for
Bartonella
spp., while
Anaplasma phagocytophilum
DNA was not detected in any tick. Several of the tick species collected from our studied reptiles/wild mammalian animals could be potential sources of zoonotic pathogens when subjected to further investigation. Therefore, stringent attention should be established for tick infestation of reptiles/wild mammalian animals in order to put in place proper control and prevention measures for tick-borne diseases in the wild, which could serve as reservoirs in the infestation of domestic animals/humans in the event of any possible contact. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0049-4747 1573-7438 |
DOI: | 10.1007/s11250-022-03286-5 |