Seroprevalence and Molecular Detection of Bovine Anaplasmosis in Egypt

Bovine anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease with zoonotic potential, caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Anaplasma marginale. The disease is distributed worldwide in tropical and subtropical regions. The economic losses from anaplasmosis in animals is of significant importance because it causes severe morbidity and mortality in cattle. Recovered animals may become persistent carriers. Epidemiological information on the actual status of bovine anaplasmosis in Egypt is scarce. Thus, this study aimed to determine anti-Anaplasma antibody and DNA in serum samples using ELISA and PCR, respectively. In total, 758 bovine sera were collected from cattle farms located in 24 Egyptian governorates in 2015 to 2016. Sera were analyzed with the commercially available ‘Anaplasma antibody competitive ELISA v2’ kit and ‘AmpliTest Anaplasma/Ehrlichia spp. real time TaqMan (TM) PCR. Anaplasma spp. antibodies were detected in 140 (18.5%) (CI: 15.8–21.4%) of the investigated sera by ELISA, and Anaplasma/Ehrlichia-DNA was detected in 40 (5.3%) (CI: 3.8–7.1%) of the positive sera by real time PCR. Co-detection of both Anaplasma spp. and Coxiella burnetii-specific antibodies was proven in 30 (4%) of the investigated sera. The results of this work confirm the significant prevalence of bovine anaplasmosis in Egypt. Raising awareness in decision makers of the public health, veterinarians and animal owners is required to reduce the spread of infection.