Detection of Babesia Spp., Theileria Spp., and Anaplasma Ovis in Ornithodoros Lahorensis from Southern Xinjiang, China

INTRODUCTION: Ticks are blood-sucking arthropods that have negative economic impacts and can spread a variety of diseases through their bites. There are few reports on soft ticks (Acari: Argasidae) and tick-borne pathogens in southern Xinjiang, China. This investigation supplements the available information for this region and is concerned with an argasid tick, apicomplexan parasites of the Babesia and Theileria genera and a bacterium of the Anaplasma genus. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study, 330 soft ticks were collected from nine sampling sites in southern Xinjiang between 2020 and 2021. The ticks were identified according to their morphological characteristics and confirmed as Ornithodoros lahorensis using mitochondrial 16S rDNA sequences. Babesia and Theileria were identified at the species level based on two fragments of the 18S rRNA gene, and one set of primers targeting the 16S rRNA gene was used to identify the Anaplasma genus. RESULTS: Among the 330 samples, one Babesia species (Babesia sp.), two Theileria species (T. ovis and T. annulata), and one Anaplasma (A. ovis) species were detected. CONCLUSION: This study provides fundamental evidence for the occurrence of Babesia, Theileria and Anaplasma spp. in soft ticks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the detection of Babesia sp. and T. annulata in O. lahorensis. Therefore, the potential threat of soft ticks to livestock and humans should not be ignored.