Tick-borne haemoparasites in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) from two wildlife areas in Northern Botswana

Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Marinda C Oosthuizen¹  Milana Troskie¹  Ilse Vorster¹  Nicola E Collins¹  Kgomotso P Sibeko¹  Mokganedi Mokopasetso³  Ferran Jori²  Dewald Eygelaar¹ 

[1] Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X04, Onderstepoort 0110, South Africa;Department of Animal Science and Production, Botswana College of Agriculture, Private Bag 0027, Gaborone, Botswana;Botswana Vaccine Institute, Private Bag 0031, Gabarone, Botswana

关键词: IFAT;    Real-time PCR;    Reverse line blot hybridization assay;    Ehrlichia;    Anaplasma;    Babesia;    Theileria;    Tick-borne diseases;    Haemoparasites;    African buffalo;    Botswana;   

Others  :  1147793
DOI  :  10.1186/s13071-014-0627-y

 received in 2014-09-09, accepted in 2014-12-29,  发布年份 2015

【 摘 要 】

Background

The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a host for many pathogens known to cause economically important diseases and is often considered an important reservoir for livestock diseases. Theileriosis, heartwater, babesiosis and anaplasmosis are considered the most important tick-borne diseases of livestock in sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in extensive economic losses to livestock farmers in endemic areas. Information on the distribution of tick-borne diseases and ticks is scarce in Northern Botswana. Nevertheless, this data is necessary for targeting surveillance and control measures in livestock production at national level.

Methods

In order to address this gap, we analyzed 120 blood samples from buffalo herds for the presence of common tick-borne haemoparasites causing disease in livestock, collected in two of the main wildlife areas of Northern Botswana: the Chobe National Park (CNP, n = 64) and the Okavango Delta (OD, n = 56).

Results

Analysis of the reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization assay results revealed the presence of Theileria, Babesia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species, either as single or mixed infections. Among the Theileria spp. present, T. parva (60%) and T. mutans (37%) were the most prevalent. Other species of interest were Anaplasma marginale subsp. centrale (30%), A. marginale (20%), Babesia occultans (23%) and Ehrlichia ruminantium (6%). The indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) indicated 74% of samples to be positive for the presence of T. parva antibodies. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) detected the highest level of animals infected with T. parva (81% of the samples). The level of agreement between the tests for detection of T. parva positive animals was higher between qPCR and IFAT (kappa = 0.56), than between qPCR and RLB (kappa = 0.26) or the latter and IFAT (kappa = 0.15).

Conclusions

This is the first report of tick-borne haemoparasites in African buffalo from northern Botswana, where animals from the CNP showed higher levels of infection than those from OD. Considering the absence of fences separating wildlife and livestock in the CNP and the higher levels of some parasite species in buffalo from that area, surveillance of tick-borne diseases in livestock at the interface in the CNP should be prioritized.

【 授权许可】

   
2015 Eygelaar et al.; licensee BioMed Central.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Figure 3.

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