Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens From Wildlife in the Free State Province, South Africa

Tonetti, Nicolas; Berggoetz, M.; Rühle, C.; Pretorius, Anne-Marié; Gern, Lise

doi:10.7589/0090-3558-45.2.437

Cited by 44 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…(Georges et al 2001). Polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) were performed in a Whatman Biometra H Tgradient basic thermocycler 96 (Gö ttingen, Germany) by using a touchdown PCR program described in Tonetti et al (2009). Positive controls (B. divergens kindly provided by Casati S. from the Istituto di Microbiologia, Ticino, Switzerland) and negative controls (for extraction and PCR) were included in each run.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Prevalence of Three ZoonoticBabesiaSpecies inIxodes ricinus(Linné, 1758) Nymphs in a Suburban Forest in Switzerland

Gigandet

Stauffer²,

Douet³

et al. 2011

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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The tick Ixodes ricinus (Linné, 1758) is known as the vector of various Babesia spp. pathogenic for humans. In Switzerland, three of them, Babesia divergens, Babesia venatorum (also known as Babesia EU1), and Babesia microti, have been reported in I. ricinus ticks from various areas. The aim here was to determine how frequently these species infect I. ricinus nymphs in a suburban forest and to determine their prevalence over 3 years along a pathway delimited in four different sections. Babesia spp. was detected and identified in 44/2568 (1.7%) I. ricinus nymphs using Reverse Line Blot. B. venatorum was infecting 1.1% (27/2568) of nymphs, B. divergens 0.2% (4/2568), and B. microti 0.7% (13/1908). Tick infection rates by these three Babesia species between years were not different except for B. microti, which was significantly less frequent in ticks in 2008 than in 2006 and 2007 according to a test using trusted intervals of percentages. B. microti was displaying the greater difference of prevalence among sampling sections, ranging from 1.6% in section 1 to 0% in section 4. The presence of these three Babesia species that are of medical relevance in a suburban forest where I. ricinus tick density is high requires attention from physicians, particularly for patients presenting unspecific symptoms and for patients who are immunocompromised, and who have history of contact with tick biotopes.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To identify pathogens at the species level a RLB method was used as described in Tonetti et al (2009). Four probes, one for each species (500 pmol) and one probe (50 pmol) for the genus Babesia (catch-All probe), were used to detect and identify pathogen DNA (Table 1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of Three ZoonoticBabesiaSpecies inIxodes ricinus(Linné, 1758) Nymphs in a Suburban Forest in Switzerland

Gigandet

Stauffer²,

Douet³

et al. 2011

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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“…An approximately 500-base pair (bp) fragment of the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene spanning the hypervariable V1 region of the genera Anaplasma and Ehrlichia and an approximately 400-bp fragment of the 18S rRNA gene spanning the V4 hypervariable region of the genera Babesia and Theileria were amplified by PCR (Tonetti et al, 2009). Positive control, included in each run, consisted of DNA of A. phagocytophilum (provided by Ana Sofia Santos, Instituto Nacional de Saude, Lisboa, Portugal) and B. divergens (provided by Simona Casati, Institut Cantonal de Microbiologie, Bellinzone, Switzerland).…”

Section: Detection and Identification Of Pathogen Species In Tick Salmentioning

confidence: 99%

Protozoan and bacterial pathogens in tick salivary glands in wild and domestic animal environments in South Africa

Berggoetz

Schmid

Ston

et al. 2014

Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases

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A total of 7364 ticks belonging to 13 species was collected from 64 game animals (belonging to 11 species) and from 64 livestock animals (cattle and sheep) living in close vicinity at 6 localities in 3 South African Provinces (Free State, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo). The geographic distribution of all tick species was congruent with the literature except for Haemaphysalis silacea. From each infested host, a maximum of 10 males and 10 females of each tick species were dissected to isolate the salivary glands. Salivary glands were screened for tick-borne pathogens using polymerase chain reaction followed by reverse line blotting and sequencing. This approach allowed us to evaluate the exposure of wild and domestic hosts to tick-borne pathogens in their respective environments. Among the 2117 examined ticks, 329 (15.5%), belonging to 8 species, were infected and harboured 397 infections. Among those, 57.7% were identified to species level and were assigned to 23 pathogen species of the genera Babesia, Theileria, Anaplasma, and Ehrlichia. In 3 out of 6 localities, salivary glands from ticks infesting wild ruminants displayed significantly higher infection prevalence and pathogen mean density than salivary glands from ticks infesting livestock animals. Four piroplasm species [Theileria bicornis, Babesia sp. (sable), Theileria sp. (giraffe), and Theileria sp. (kudu)] were detected for the first time in ticks. The tick species Rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) decoloratus, Hyalomma rufipes, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, and Amblyomma hebraeum were associated with a broader pathogen range than previously known, and thus new vector-pathogen combinations are described. In addition, previously unknown coinfection patterns in tick salivary glands are reported.

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“…For example, lions (Panthera leo) can inflict heavy mortality on cattle when cattle are not well protected (Frank et al 2005). In addition, cattle can be exposed to pathogens when they are bitten by disease vectors that have acquired infections from wildlife (Thirgood et al 2005, Tonetti et al 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of wildlife and cattle on tick abundance in central Kenya

Keesing

Allan

Young

et al. 2013

Ecological Applications

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In African savannas, large mammals, both wild and domestic, support an abundant and diverse population of tick ectoparasites. Because of the density of ticks and the many pathogens that they vector, cattle in East Africa are often treated with acaricides. While acaricides are known to be effective at reducing tick burdens on cattle, their effects on the overall abundance and community composition of ticks in savanna ecosystems are less well understood. It is also not known how well tick populations can be maintained in the absence of large mammals. We evaluated the effects of wildlife and of acaricide-treated cattle on host-seeking tick populations in a long-term, exclusion experiment in central Kenya. Over seven years, we sampled larval, nymphal, and adult ticks monthly on replicated treatment plots that controlled for the presence of cattle and for the presence of two guilds of large wild mammals: megaherbivores (giraffes and elephants) and all other large wild herbivores (> 15 kg). Two species of ticks were found in this habitat; across all surveys, 93% were Rhipicephalus pulchellus and 7% were R. praetextatus. The presence of acaricide-treated cattle dramatically reduced the abundance of host-seeking nymphal and adult ticks but did not affect the abundance of host-seeking larval ticks. The abundance of larval ticks was determined by the presence of large wild mammals, which appear to import gravid female ticks into the experimental plots. On plots with no large mammals, either wild or domestic, larval and nymphal ticks were rare. Adult R. pulchellus were most abundant in plots that allowed wildlife but excluded cattle. Adult R. praetextatus were relatively abundant in plots without any large mammals. These differences suggest that these ticks utilize different members of the host community. The reduction in ticks that results from the presence of acaricide-treated cattle has potential health benefits for humans and wildlife, but these benefits must be weighed against potential costs, including reduced availability of food for birds such as oxpeckers that feed on ticks.

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Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens From Wildlife in the Free State Province, South Africa

Cited by 44 publications

References 15 publications

Prevalence of Three ZoonoticBabesiaSpecies inIxodes ricinus(Linné, 1758) Nymphs in a Suburban Forest in Switzerland

Prevalence of Three ZoonoticBabesiaSpecies inIxodes ricinus(Linné, 1758) Nymphs in a Suburban Forest in Switzerland

Protozoan and bacterial pathogens in tick salivary glands in wild and domestic animal environments in South Africa

Effects of wildlife and cattle on tick abundance in central Kenya

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