ABSTRACT
Pathogens like bacteria and protozoa, which affect human and animal health worldwide, can be transmitted by vectors like ticks. To investigate the epidemiology and genetic diversity of bacteria and protozoans carried by ticks in Chengmai county of Hainan province, China, 285 adult hard ticks belonging to two species [ Rhipicephalus sanguineus ( sensu lato): 183, 64.21% and Rhipicephalus microplus: 102, 35.79%] from dogs, cattle, and goats were collected. Microbial families were identified in these ticks by amplifying the 18S rRNA, 16S rRNA ( rrs), citrate synthase ( gltA), and heat shock protein ( groEL) genes. Our data revealed the presence of four recognized species and two Candidatus spp. of Anaplasmataceae and Coxiellaceae. In sum, these data reveal an extensive diversity of Anaplasmataceae bacteria, Coxiellaceae bacteria, Babesiidae, and Hepatozoidae in ticks from Hainan Island, highlighting the need to understand the tick-borne pathogen infection in local animals and humans.
Subject(s)
Anaplasmataceae/genetics , Coccidia/genetics , Coxiellaceae/genetics , Insect Vectors/microbiology , Ixodidae/microbiology , Piroplasmia/genetics , Anaplasmataceae/isolation & purification , Animals , Chaperonin 60/genetics , China , Citrate (si)-Synthase/genetics , Coccidia/isolation & purification , Coxiellaceae/isolation & purification , Islands , Phylogeny , Piroplasmia/isolation & purification , RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics , RNA, Ribosomal, 18S/geneticsABSTRACT
The study was aimed at determining the cause of the diseases in three horses exhibiting symptoms of fever, ataxia, mucus membrane paleness, haematuria and thrombocytopenia. The PCR technique revealed the presence in the blood of 18S RNA Babesia/Theileria spp. genetic material. DNA amplification using primers RLB F2 and RLB R2 produced 430 bp size products. The sequences of these PCR products demonstrated a 95.6-97.5% similarity with the sequence of the fragment of 18S RNA Babesia equi, gene number DQ287951 in the GenBank. The treatment utilizing the subcutaneous application of the imidocarb resulted in gradual recovery of the diseased animals.
