Investigation of Rickettsia, Coxiella burnetii and Bartonella in ticks from animals in South Africa

Halajian, Ali; Palomar, Ana M.; Portillo, Aránzazu; Heyne, Heloise; Luus‐Powell, Wilmien J.; Oteo, José A.

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.12.008

Cited by 36 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…We could not find reports of tick infections with C. burnetii in South Africa prior to our previously published study (Mtshali et al 2015 ), where we positively identified the pathogen in KZN and the FS from ticks collected from ruminants (sheep, goats and cattle) with infection rates ranging between 20% and 68% among the sampled groups. In a similar study, Halajian et al ( 2016 ) could not detect C. burnetii infections in sheep, cattle and wildlife in Limpopo and Western Cape provinces. Nevertheless, in this study we report a notably high prevalence of 41% when compared with 7.8% found in a similar study in Cyprus (Psaroulaki et al 2006 ) as well as to the above-mentioned studies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

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

Mtshali

Sugimoto

Thekisoe

2017

J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc.

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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 PCR-positive 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.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

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

Mtshali

Sugimoto

Thekisoe

2017

J. S. Afr. Vet. Assoc.

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“…Although previous studies from Nigeria reported ticks to be infected with Coxiella spp. [9,10], a recent study carried out in South Africa to detect tick-borne pathogens failed to detect Coxiella spp from a wide range of ticks tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) [36]. Even though several species of tick can be naturally infected with C. burnetii, they are however not important in the maintenance of infections in livestock or humans compared to wild vertebrates [37].…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Serospatial epidemiology of zoonotic Coxiella burnetii in a cross section of cattle and small ruminants in northern Nigeria

et al. 2020

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The persistent and highly transmissible Coxiella burnetii is a neglected infection that negatively affects reproductive parameters of livestock. It is also of zoonotic importance and has been reported to cause devastating human infections globally. Domestic ruminants represent the most frequent source of human infection. Data from Nigeria are very few and outdated. There is a significant gap in up-to-date information on the exposure, spatial distribution and risk factors of infection of this important disease. The exposure to C. burnetii was determined using sensitive serological assays in cattle and small ruminants. A total of 538 animals made up of 268 cattle and 270 small ruminants were sampled from three northern Nigerian states. The proportion of cattle sampled that were seropositive from the study locations were: Kwara 14/90 (15.6%; 95% CI: 8.8-24.7); Plateau 10/106 (9.43%; 95% CI: 4.6-16.7) and Borno 4/72 (5.56%; 95% CI: 1.5-13.6) states. Lower seroprevalence was recorded among the small ruminants sampled, with positives recorded from sheep and goat sampled from only Kwara state 6/184 (3.3%; 95% CI: 1.2-7.0); while none of the small ruminants sampled from Plateau were seropositive. The results of the bivariate analysis showed that none of the tested independent variables (village, age group, sex, breed of cattle, presence of ticks, reproductive status, and management system) were statistically significant factors associated with seropositivity of cattle for antibodies to C. burnetii. Stakeholders involved in animal husbandry should be duly educated on proper disposal of birth products as well as bodily fluids in order to reduce environmental contamination, persistence and human infection.

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“…Despite recent progress in understanding Coxiella pathogenesis, host mechanisms associated with the control of infection and bacterial factors implicated in replication and establishment of infection remain largely unknown. Although C. burnetii has been detected in tick populations worldwide (19)(20)(21), the role of ticks in the epidemiology of Q fever remains unclear (22). A recent study demonstrated that C. burnetii has emerged from Coxiellalike endosymbiont organisms found in ticks, revealing evidence of how the bacterium evolved from arthropods to infect mammalian cells by the acquisition of virulence factors (23).…”

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Host and Bacterial Factors Control Susceptibility of Drosophila melanogaster to Coxiella burnetii Infection

et al. 2017

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Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever, a zoonotic disease that threatens both human and animal health. Due to the paucity of experimental animal models, little is known about how host factors interface with bacterial components and affect pathogenesis. Here, we used Drosophila melanogaster, in conjunction with the biosafety level 2 (BSL2) Nine Mile phase II (NMII) clone 4 strain of C. burnetii, as a model to investigate host and bacterial components implicated in infection. We demonstrate that adult Drosophila flies are susceptible to C. burnetii NMII infection and that this bacterial strain, which activates the immune deficiency (IMD) pathway, is able to replicate and cause mortality in the animals. We show that in the absence of Eiger, the only known tumor necrosis factor (TNF) superfamily homolog in Drosophila, Coxiella-infected flies exhibit reduced mortality from infection. We also demonstrate that the Coxiella type 4 secretion system (T4SS) is critical for the formation of the Coxiella-containing vacuole and establishment of infection in Drosophila. Altogether, our data reveal that the Drosophila TNF homolog Eiger and the Coxiella T4SS are implicated in the pathogenesis of C. burnetii in flies. The Drosophila/NMII model mimics relevant aspects of the infection in mammals, such as a critical role of host TNF and the bacterial T4SS in pathogenesis. Our work also demonstrates the usefulness of this BSL2 model to investigate both host and Coxiella components implicated in infection.KEYWORDS Q fever, innate immunity, IMD, TNF, Eiger, NMII, pathogenesis, T4SS, tumor necrosis factor C oxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacterium and the causative agent of the zoonosis Q fever (1). Acute C. burnetii infection in humans is characterized primarily by influenza-like symptoms and pneumonia. Domestic ruminants act as reservoir hosts of C. burnetii and have been implicated in several outbreaks of Q fever worldwide (1-3). Based on morbidity, low infectious dose, and the environmental stability of the organism, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated C. burnetii a category B biological weapon agent (4). C. burnetii presents two antigenic forms: a pathogenic phase I variant and an attenuated phase II variant that has a truncated O chain in its lipopolysaccharide (5, 6). C. burnetii phase I is associated with Q fever, whereas phase II does not cause disease in immunocompetent hosts (7-9). The Nine Mile phase II (NMII) clone 4/RSA439 is an attenuated strain of C. burnetii derived from the virulent Nine Mile phase I (NMI) strain through repeated passages in embryonated eggs (5). Although attenuated in immunocompetent hosts, the NMII strain has been shown to be virulent to SCID mice (10) and to cause fever in gamma interferon knockout (IFN-␥ Ϫ/Ϫ ) and Toll-like receptor 2 knockout (TLR2 Ϫ/Ϫ ) mice (11). Because C. burnetii NMI and NMII strains present similar replication kinetics in tissue culture models, the NMII strain has been used as a safer o...

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Investigation of Rickettsia, Coxiella burnetii and Bartonella in ticks from animals in South Africa

Cited by 36 publications

References 35 publications

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

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

Serospatial epidemiology of zoonotic Coxiella burnetii in a cross section of cattle and small ruminants in northern Nigeria

Host and Bacterial Factors Control Susceptibility of Drosophila melanogaster to Coxiella burnetii Infection

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