Occurrence of Coxiella burnetii, Ehrlichia canis, Rickettsia species and Anaplasma phagocytophilum-like bacterium in ticks collected from dogs and cats in South Africa

• Published in: Journal of the South African Veterinary Association Vol. 88; no. 1; pp. 1 - 6
• Main Authors: Sugimoto, Chihiro, Thekisoe, Oriel, Mtshali, Khethiwe, Nakao, Ryo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: South Africa AOSIS 19.05.2017; African Online Scientific Information Systems (Pty) Ltd t/a AOSIS; AOSIS (Pty) Ltd
• Subjects: Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Animals; Arachnids; Bacteria; Cat Diseases - epidemiology; Cat Diseases - microbiology; Cats; Causes of; Coxiella burnetii; Deoxyribonucleic acid; Distribution; DNA; Dog Diseases - epidemiology; Dog Diseases - microbiology; Dogs; Domestic cats; Ehrlichia canis; Epidemiology; Fever; Genetic aspects; Genetic testing; Health aspects; Humans; Infections; Infectious diseases; Investigations; Lyme disease; Methods; Original Research; Parasitology; Pathogens; Polymerase chain reaction; Rickettsia; Rickettsiae; South Africa - epidemiology; Tick-borne diseases; Tick-Borne Diseases - epidemiology; Tick-Borne Diseases - veterinary; Ticks; Ticks - microbiology; Vectors; Zoonoses; South Africa; Europe
• ISSN: 1019-9128; 2224-9435
• DOI: 10.4102/jsava.v88i0.1390

Ticks are major vectors of arthropod-borne infections and transmit a wide variety of zoonotic pathogens. This study was conducted mainly to determine the occurrence of canine tick-borne bacterial and rickettsial pathogens especially those with zoonotic potential. We examined 276 Rhipicephalus sanguineus, 38 Haemaphysalis elliptica and 4 Amblyomma hebraeum ticks from 90 dogs and 4 cats from the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Mpumalanga provinces. DNA of Coxiella burnetii (41%), Ehrlichia or Anaplasma (18%), Rickettsia spp. (37%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum-like bacterium (18%) and Ehrlichia canis (19%) was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from a total of 147 pooled DNA samples. All samples were negative for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA. Ehrlichia canis was detected in samples from all the provinces except the North West; A. phagocytophilum was absent in KwaZulu-Natal samples, whereas Rickettsia species and C. burnetii were detected in all sampled provinces. The PCRpositive samples were confirmed by direct sequencing of the product. Data from this study calls for a joint effort by both veterinary and medical sectors to conduct epidemiological studies of the zoonotic pathogens in both animals and humans.