Abstract
A total of 178 adult ticks were collected from 32 pet dogs from five veterinary clinics in Shihezi City, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), northwestern China. All the ticks were identified by comprehensive morphological and genetic analyses, and rickettsiae were detected by seven Rickettsia-specific genetic markers in the ticks. The ticks collected were identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato. Twenty-one of the 178 samples (11.8%) were positive for rickettsiae. Among these, in 13 (61.9%) samples Candidatus R. barbariae were identified, in five (23.8%) samples R. massiliae, and in three (14.3%) samples R. conorii. This study indicates that more attention should be paid to rickettsial infection in pet dogs and their ticks, because the latter may pose an epidemiological risk for tick-borne transmission of rickettsiae to human beings.
Highlights
Ticks are among the most common ectoparasites of dogs, involved in the transmission of a number of major diseases in both dogs and humans (Chomel 2011; Dantas-Torres and Otranto 2016)
In Jiangxi Province, mid-eastern China, Babesia canis vogeli and Babesia gibsoni were molecularly detected in 780 dog ticks (749 Rhipicephalus sanguineus, 16 Haemaphysalis campaulata and 15 Haemaphysalis verticalis), while all sampled dog ticks were negative for rickettsial agents (Zheng et al 2017)
In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), northwestern China, rickettsial agents were prevalent in ticks infesting both domestic animals and wildlife (Guo et al 2015, 2016)
Summary
Ticks are among the most common ectoparasites of dogs, involved in the transmission of a number of major diseases in both dogs and humans (Chomel 2011; Dantas-Torres and Otranto 2016). Tick-borne rickettsioses are caused by the spotted fever group rickettsiae (SFGR) of the genus Rickettsia, which contains approximately 20 species, and many of which are established or emerging human pathogens (Wood et al 2012). Regardless the benefits of having pet dogs, pathogens carried by ticks are potentially transmissible to humans, which may represent a health risk, especially to children, elderly people and immunocompromised individuals (Dantas-Torres and Otranto 2014). In Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), northwestern China, rickettsial agents were prevalent in ticks infesting both domestic animals and wildlife (Guo et al 2015, 2016). A molecular investigation was carried out for rickettsial agents in pet dog ticks
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