Abstract
Importation of tick-infected animals and the uncontrollable migration of birds and wild animals across borders can lead to geographical expansion and redistribution of ticks and pathogen vectors, thus leading to the emergence and re-emergence of tick-borne diseases in humans and animals. Comparatively, little is known about the occurrence of piroplasms in ixodid ticks in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, thus necessitating this study, which is aimed at detecting piroplasms (Theileria and Babesia) from feeding tick samples collected from cattle, sheep, and goats in selected sites in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A total of 1200 feeding ixodid ticks collected from farm animals at selected homesteads were first subjected to molecular identification using mitochondrial 12S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene by PCR and were further tested for the presence of piroplasms through amplification of the 18S rRNA gene via nested-PCR followed by sequencing of the PCR products. The results indicated that 853 (71.1%) corresponded to the genus Rhipicephalus, 335 (27.9%) corresponded to genus Amblyomma, and 12 (1%) corresponded to genus Haemaphysalis. Amblyomma hebraeum and Rhipicephalus appendiculatus were the most common identified ticks from this study. The 18S rRNA nested-PCR revealed that 44 (3.7%) samples were confirmed positive for Theileria. A homology search for the generated sequences revealed a high percentage identity of 98–98.9% similarity to T. buffeli, T. orientalis, and T. sergenti in the GenBank. Based on the results obtained herein, we conclude that there is a big diversity of Theileria species; therefore, we suggest that this research should cover more geographical areas in order to reveal the true prevalence of this pathogen in the studied area because this will be a great step in the possible prevention of an outbreak that could have devastating effects on livestock production and human health in both the studied areas and South Africa at large.
Highlights
Piroplasms infections caused by pathogenic species of Theileiria and Babesia have been described as vector-borne emerging zoonoses that induce malaria-like syndrome in susceptible humans with previous exposure to infected tick bite [1,2]
Based on the results obtained we conclude that there is a big diversity of Theileria species; we suggest that this research should cover more geographical areas in order to reveal the true prevalence of this pathogen in the studied area because this will be a great step in the possible prevention of an outbreak that could have devastating effects on livestock production and human health in both the studied areas and
Phylogenetic analysis from this study showed that T. annulata clustered unambiguously with other reference strains from India, Korea, and Spain; it could be hypothesized that the presence of T. annulata in the studied areas is as a result of migratory wild animals and birds carrying infected ticks with them
Summary
Piroplasms infections caused by pathogenic species of Theileiria and Babesia have been described as vector-borne emerging zoonoses that induce malaria-like syndrome in susceptible humans with previous exposure to infected tick bite [1,2]. Both Theileria and Babesia are haemoprotozoan that have been described as the causative agents for piroplasmoses [3,4]. They have been known to infect various species of domesticated and wild animals, causing major economic losses on livestock production, especially on small hold farmers in endemic geographical regions [5]. Clinical symptoms of theileriosis include fever followed by depression, nasal discharge, watery secretion from the eyes, enlarged lymph nodes, and anaemia [8]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
