Tick-borne pathogens and associated co-infections in ticks collected from domestic animals in central China.

Zhuo Chen,Qin Liu,Bian-Li Xu,Shan Lv,Shang Xia,Xiao-Nong Zhou,Ji-Qi Liu

doi:10.1186/1756-3305-7-237

Abstract

BackgroundTicks can transmit a number of pathogens to humans and domestic animals. Tick borne diseases (TBDs), which may lead to organ failure and death have been recently reported in China. 98.75% of the total cases (>1000) in Henan provinces have been reported in Xinyang city. Therefore, the aims of this study were to investigate the fauna of ticks and detect the potential pathogens in ticks in Xinyang, the region of central China.MethodsTicks were collected from 10 villages of Xinyang from April to December 2012, from domestic animals including sheep, cattle and dogs. Then identification of ticks and detection of tick-borne pathogens, including Babesia spp., Theileria spp., Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., Rickettsia spp., tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Leishmania infantum, were undertaken by using polymerase chain reaction assay (PCR) and sequence analysis. Moreover, the co-infection patterns of various pathogens were compared among locations where ticks were collected.ResultsA total of 308 ticks were collected. Two species of Ixodidae were found, namely Haemaphysalis longicornis (96.75%) and Rhipicephalus microplus (3.25%). Five genera of pathogens, namely Theileria spp. (3.25%), Anaplasma spp. (2.92%), Babesia spp. (1.95%), Ehrlichia spp. (2.92%) and Rickettsia spp. (0.65%), were detected in 7 villages. Co-infections by two pathogens were diagnosed in 11.11% of all infected ticks.ConclusionsBoth human and animal pathogens were abundant in ticks in the study areas. Humans and animals in these regions were at a high risk of exposure to piroplasmosis, since piroplasm had the highest rates of infection and co-infection in positive ticks.

Highlights

Ticks can transmit a number of pathogens to humans and domestic animals
The other one was R. microplus (3.25%). 298 H. longicornis had been collected from all hosts species in all 10 villages, but only 10 R. microplus were collected from sheep and cattle in 3 villages
We found one tick infected with B. canis vogeli which was collected from a sheep, and one tick infected with B. microti which was collected from a dog

Summary

Introduction

Ticks can transmit a number of pathogens to humans and domestic animals. Tick borne diseases (TBDs), which may lead to organ failure and death have been recently reported in China. Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) are parasitic acari that suck blood from their vertebrate hosts [1]. They can transmit a number of pathogenic organisms to humans and domestic animals [2,3] and cause a variety of important natural focal diseases and zoonoses. In China, about eleven genera of ticks have been recorded which covered approximately 120 species, including 10 species of Argasidae and over 100 species of Ixodidae [8]. Tick species were specific in different zones in China [9]

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