Molecular diagnosis and phylogenetic analysis of Babesia bigemina and Babesia bovis hemoparasites from cattle in South Africa

BMC Veterinary Research

Phillip Senzo Mtshali¹  Moses Sibusiso Mtshali² 

[1] Research and Scientific Services Department, Veterinary Parasitology Unit, National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, Pretoria 0001, South Africa;Department of Zoology and Entomology, Parasitology Research Program, University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, Phuthaditjhaba 9866, South Africa

关键词: Phylogeny;    Nested PCR;    South Africa;    Babesia bovis;    Babesia bigemina;    Cattle;   

Others  :  1119484
DOI  :  10.1186/1746-6148-9-154

 received in 2013-04-15, accepted in 2013-08-02,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

Babesia parasites, mainly Babesia bovis and B. bigemina, are tick-borne hemoparasites inducing bovine babesiosis in cattle globally. The clinical signs of the disease include, among others, anemia, fever and hemoglobinuria. Babesiosis is known to occur in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In this study, we aim to provide information about the occurrence and phylogenetic relationship of B. bigemina and B. bovis species in cattle from different locations in nine provinces of South Africa.

A total of 430 blood samples were randomly collected from apparently healthy cattle. These samples were genetically tested for Babesia parasitic infections using nested PCR assays with species-specific primers.

Results

Nested PCR assays with Group I primer sets revealed that the overall prevalence of B. bigemina and B. bovis in all bovine samples tested was 64.7% (95% CI = 60.0-69.0) and 35.1% (95% CI = 30.6-39.8), respectively. Only 117/430 (27.2%) animals had a mixed infection. The highest prevalence of 87.5% (95% CI = 77.2-93.5) for B. bigemina was recorded in the Free State province collection sites (Ficksburg, Philippolis and Botshabelo), while North West collection sites had the highest number of animals infected with B. bovis (65.5%; 95% CI = 52.7-76.4). Phylograms were inferred based on B. bigemina-specific gp45 and B. bovis-specific rap-1 nucleotide sequences obtained with Group II nested PCR primers. Phylogenetic analysis of gp45 sequences revealed significant differences in the genotypes of B. bigemina isolates investigated, including those of strains published in GenBank. On the other hand, a phylogeny based on B. bovis rap-1 sequences indicated a similar trend of clustering among the sequences of B. bovis isolates investigated in this study.

Conclusion

This study demonstrates the occurrence of Babesia parasites in cattle from different provinces of South Africa. It was also noted that the situation of Babesia parasitic infection in cattle from certain areas within the surveyed provinces had either reached endemic stability or was progressing towards stability.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Mtshali and Mtshali; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

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