A report on tick burden and molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens in cattle blood samples collected from four regions in Saudi Arabia

Alanazi, Abdullah D.; Alouffi, Abdulaziz; Alshahrani, Mohammad Y.; Alyousif, Mohamed S; Abdullah, Hend H.A.M.; Allam, A. M.; Elsawy, Bassma S. M.; Abdel-Shafy, Sobhy; Alsulami, Muslimah N.; Khan, Adil

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2021.101652

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 19 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Theileria annulata detected in cattle in this study was identical to previously identified genotypes from the UAE [ 27 ] and clustered with T. annulata from Italy, Pakistan and Egypt, again suggesting that the variant was widespread. The prevalence of Theileria in livestock from Oman [ 33 ] and Saudi Arabia is also comparable to our findings [ 47 ]. Furthermore, the highest prevalence of Theileria infections occur in H. anatolicum compared to H. excavatum , H. scupense and H. marginatum , suggesting that H. anatolicum may be the main vector of theileriosis [ 31 ].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Four Tick-Borne Microorganisms and Their Prevalence in Hyalomma Ticks Collected from Livestock in United Arab Emirates

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Ticks and associated tick-borne diseases in livestock remain a major threat to the health of animals and people worldwide. However, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), very few studies have been conducted on tick-borne microorganisms thus far. The purpose of this cross-sectional DNA-based study was to assess the presence and prevalence of tick-borne Francisella sp., Rickettsia sp., and piroplasmids in ticks infesting livestock, and to estimate their infection rates. A total of 562 tick samples were collected from camels, cows, sheep, and goats in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah from 24 locations. DNA was extracted from ticks and PCR was conducted. We found that Hyalomma dromedarii ticks collected from camels had Francisella sp. (5.81%) and SFG Rickettsia (1.36%), which was 99% similar to Candidatus Rickettsia andeanae and uncultured Rickettsia sp. In addition, Hyalomma anatolicum ticks collected from cows were found to be positive for Theileria annulata (4.55%), whereas H. anatolicum collected from goats were positive for Theileria ovis (10%). The widespread abundance of Francisella of unknown pathogenicity and the presence of Rickettsia are a matter of concern. The discovery of T. ovis from relatively few samples from goats indicates the overall need for more surveillance. Increasing sampling efforts over a wider geographical range within the UAE could reveal the true extent of tick-borne diseases in livestock. Moreover, achieving successful tick-borne disease control requires more research and targeted studies evaluating the pathogenicity and infection rates of many microbial species.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Four Tick-Borne Microorganisms and Their Prevalence in Hyalomma Ticks Collected from Livestock in United Arab Emirates

2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Similarly, the prevalence of T. annulata in cattle has been reported in other tropical and subtropical countries as well. The prevalence of T. annulata in cattle has been reported to be 23.3% in India [ 26 ], 20% in Egypt [ 27 ], 25.4% in Algeria [ 28 ], 18.2% in Northwest China [ 29 ] and 1.9% in Saudi Arabia [ 30 ]. These differences in T. annulata infection rates are due to variations in tick control programs, habitat suitability for ticks, farm management, husbandry practices and abiotic factors of sampling sites [ 20 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular Epidemiology of Theileria annulata in Cattle from Two Districts in Punjab (Pakistan)

Parveen

Alkhaibari

Asif

et al. 2021

Animals

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The present study was designed to report the molecular prevalence of T. annulata in cattle blood samples collected from Punjab in Pakistan. A total of 428 cattle blood samples were collected from Districts Lodhran (n = 218) and Dera Ghazi Khan (n = 210). The prevalence of T. annulata was determined by the amplification of a fragment from its cytochrome b gene and parasite prevalence was significantly higher (p = 0.03) in the blood samples of cattle collected from Dera Ghazi Khan (70/210; 33%) as compared to Lodhran (52/218; 24%). Presence of T. annulata was also confirmed by the amplification of a fragment from their 30 kDa gene. The amplified PCR products of both genes were confirmed by DNA sequencing and these partial DNA sequences were submitted to GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that amplified partial gene sequences resembled previously reported T. annulata sequences in cattle from India, China, Iran, Tunisia, Turkey and Egypt. The incidence of T. annulata infection was higher in Sahiwal cattle (p = 0.04) than the other enrolled cattle breed from Dera Ghazi Khan. Female cattle from Lodhran (p = 0.02), while males (p = 0.02), animals housed in close compounds (p = 0.04), animals with a tick burden (p = 0.005) and farms with only cattle (p = 0.01) in Dear Ghazi Khan were found to be more susceptible to T. annulata infection. We recommend that large-scale tick and tick-borne disease control strategies be implemented in both districts under investigation, especially in Dera Ghazi Khan.

show abstract

“…A key to the ticks of Yemen was published by Hoogstraal and Kaiser [21] and for Saudi Arabia by Hoogstraal et al [22]. Recent reports of ticks from the region have focused primarily on identification of species collected from domestic animals and pathogen screening [23][24][25], with a smaller number of studies on tick specimens obtained from wild hosts [26][27][28]. Importantly, to the best of our knowledge, no molecular data from ticks collected from wildlife in Saudi Arabia have been published to date.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Automatic barcode gap discovery reveals diverse clades of Rhipicephalus spp. and Haemaphysalis spp. ticks from small mammals in 'Asir, Saudi Arabia

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The ixodid tick genera Rhipicephalus and Haemaphysalis contain several species of medical and/or veterinary importance, but their diversity in some regions of the world remains under-explored. For instance, very few modern studies have been performed on the taxonomy of these genera on the Arabian Peninsula. Methods In this study, we trapped small mammals in the 'Asir Mountains of south-western Saudi Arabia and collected tick specimens for morphological examination and molecular barcoding, targeting three mitochondrial loci: cox1, 16S rRNA and 12S rRNA. Results We obtained a total of 733 ticks (608 Haemaphysalis spp. and 125 Rhipicephalus spp.) from 75 small mammal hosts belonging to six species. All tick specimens were immature except for nine adults recovered from a hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus). Morphologically, the Rhipicephalus ticks resembled R. camicasi, but the Haemaphysalis ticks showed differences in palp morphology compared with species previously described from Saudi Arabia. Phylogenetic analysis and automatic barcode gap discovery identified a novel clade of Rhipicephalus sp. representing most of the nymphs. This was most closely related to R. leporis, R. guilhoni and R. linnaei. The adult ticks and a small proportion of nymphs clustered with R. camicasi sequences from a previous study. Finally, the Haemaphysalis nymphs formed two distinct clades that were clearly separated from all reference sequences but closest to some African species. Conclusions This apparent high level of tick diversity observed in a single study site of only ~ 170 km2, on a relatively small number of hosts, highlights the potential for the discovery of new tick species on the Arabian Peninsula. Graphical Abstract

show abstract

A report on tick burden and molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens in cattle blood samples collected from four regions in Saudi Arabia

Cited by 11 publications

References 19 publications

Four Tick-Borne Microorganisms and Their Prevalence in Hyalomma Ticks Collected from Livestock in United Arab Emirates

Four Tick-Borne Microorganisms and Their Prevalence in Hyalomma Ticks Collected from Livestock in United Arab Emirates

Molecular Epidemiology of Theileria annulata in Cattle from Two Districts in Punjab (Pakistan)

Automatic barcode gap discovery reveals diverse clades of Rhipicephalus spp. and Haemaphysalis spp. ticks from small mammals in 'Asir, Saudi Arabia

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About