Rickettsial agents in Egyptian ticks collected from domestic animals

• Published in: Experimental & applied acarology Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 67 - 81
• Main Authors: Loftis, Amanda D, Reeves, Will K, Szumlas, Daniel E, Abbassy, Magda M, Helmy, Ibrahim M, Moriarity, John R, Dasch, Gregory A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : Kluwer Academic Publishers 01.09.2006; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acari; Anaplasma marginale; Animal bacterial diseases; Animals; Animals, Domestic - parasitology; Argas persicus; Bacterial diseases; Bartonella; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Boophilus annulatus; Coxiella burnetii; disease vectors; DNA; DNA, Bacterial - chemistry; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; Domestic animals; Egypt; Ehrlichia; Ehrlichia canis; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genotypes; Hyalomma; Hyalomma anatolicum; Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum; Hyalomma dromedarii; Hyalomma marginatum rufipes; Infectious diseases; Ixodes ricinus; Ixodidae; Male; Medical sciences; Medically important nuisances and vectors, pests of stored products and materials: population survey and control; nucleotide sequences; pathogen identification; peridomestic animals; polymerase chain reaction; Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; Rhipicephalus; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; Rhipicephalus turanicus; Rickettsia; Rickettsia - genetics; Rickettsia - isolation & purification; rickettsial diseases; Rickettsiales; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - chemistry; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S - chemistry; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S - genetics; Rural Population; tick infestations; tick-borne diseases; Tick-Borne Diseases - microbiology; Ticks - microbiology; Vectors. Intermediate hosts; Egypt; Africa; Egypt, Arab Rep; Parasitiformes; Egypt; Parasite; Zoonosis; Veterinary medicine; Rickettsiales; Polymerase chain reaction; Zoonotic diseases; Arachnida; Acari; Geographic distribution; Ixodida; Arthropoda; Pathogenic; Domestic animal; Bacteria; Ectoparasite; Invertebrata; Detection; Sanitary surveillance; Veterinary; Vector; Ixodidae; PCR
• ISSN: 0168-8162; 1572-9702
• DOI: 10.1007/s10493-006-9025-2

To assess the presence of rickettsial pathogens in ticks from Egypt, we collected ticks from domestic and peridomestic animals between June 2002 and July 2003. DNA extracts from 1019 ticks were tested, using PCR and sequencing, for Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Coxiella burnetii, Ehrlichia spp., and Rickettsia spp. Ticks included: 29 Argas persicus, 10 Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum, 55 Hyalomma anatolicum excavatum, 174 Hyalomma dromedarii, 2 Hyalomma impeltatum, 3 Hyalomma marginatum rufipes, 55 unidentified nymphal Hyalomma, 625 Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus, 49 Rhipicephalus sanguineus, and 17 Rhipicephalus turanicus. Ticks were collected predominantly (>80%) from buffalo, cattle, and camels, with smaller numbers from chicken and rabbit sheds, sheep, foxes, a domestic dog, a hedgehog, and a black rat. We detected Anaplasma marginale, Coxiella burnetii, Rickettsia aeschlimannii, and four novel genotypes similar to: “Anaplasma platys,” Ehrlichia canis, Ehrlichia spp. reported from Asian ticks, and a Rickettsiales endosymbiont of Ixodes ricinus.