Seasonal fluctuations of Babesia bigemina and Rhipicephalus microplus in Brangus and Nellore cattle reared in the Cerrado biome, Brazil
Abstract Background The tick Rhipicephalus microplus (Ixodida: Ixodidae, Canestrini, 1888) causes substantial economic and health losses in cattle production and is the main vector of Babesia bigemina (Piroplasmidae: Babesidae, Smith & Kilborne, 1893). Babesia bigemina is responsible for a tick-...
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Published in | Parasites & vectors Vol. 15; no. 1; pp. 1 - 395 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
London
BioMed Central
28.10.2022
BMC |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Abstract
Background
The tick
Rhipicephalus microplus
(Ixodida: Ixodidae, Canestrini, 1888) causes substantial economic and health losses in cattle production and is the main vector of
Babesia bigemina
(Piroplasmidae: Babesidae, Smith & Kilborne, 1893).
Babesia bigemina
is responsible for a tick-borne disease known as babesiosis that can cause hemolytic anemia, fever and death. In the study reported here, we investigated the relationship between the number of ticks per animal and the number of
B. bigemina
cytochrome
b
gene (
cbisg
) copies in the blood of Brangus and Nellore cattle reared without acaricidal treatment in the Brazilian Cerrado biome over a 1-year period.
Methods
Ticks on 19 animals (9 Brangus and 10 Nellore cattle) were counted every 18 days, and blood was collected every 36 days for 12 months. Serological samples were analyzed with an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and genomic DNA was analyzed by conventional PCR and quantitative PCR. The PCR products were sequenced by the Sanger method.
Results
The Brangus and Nellore breeds showed similar weight development and no clinical signs of babesiosis. Statistically significant differences (
P
< 0.05) between the breeds were observed for the number of ticks and the number of
B. bigemina cbisg
gene copies.
Conclusions
No correlation between the number of ticks and the number of circulating copies of
cbisg
was observed, although Nellore cattle presented with fewer ticks than Brangus cattle and the number of
cbisg
copies was higher for Nellore cattle than for Brangus cattle. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1756-3305 1756-3305 |
DOI: | 10.1186/s13071-022-05513-2 |