Cargando…
Survey of Ticks and Tick-Borne Rickettsial and Protozoan Pathogens in Eswatini
Ticks are widespread parasites of vertebrates and major vectors of pathogens to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. In southern Africa, numerous tick species transmit diseases of economic and health importance. This study aimed to describe the occurrence of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in mult...
Autores principales: | , , |
---|---|
Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
MDPI
2021
|
Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8401679/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34451507 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10081043 |
_version_ | 1783745608461320192 |
---|---|
author | Ledger, Kimberly J. Beati, Lorenza Wisely, Samantha M. |
author_facet | Ledger, Kimberly J. Beati, Lorenza Wisely, Samantha M. |
author_sort | Ledger, Kimberly J. |
collection | PubMed |
description | Ticks are widespread parasites of vertebrates and major vectors of pathogens to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. In southern Africa, numerous tick species transmit diseases of economic and health importance. This study aimed to describe the occurrence of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in multiple land-use types and the possible role of ticks in the transmission of pathogen species. Using molecular techniques, we screened 1716 ticks for infection by rickettsial bacteria and protozoans. To characterize pathogen identity, we sequenced multiple loci from positive samples and analyzed sequences within a phylogenetic framework. Across the seven tick species collected as nymphs or adults, we detected Rickettsia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Babesia, Hepatozoon, and Theileira species. We found that some tick species and tick-borne pathogens differed according to land use. For example, we found a higher density of Haemaphysalis elliptica and higher prevalence of Rickettsia in H. elliptica collected from savanna grasses used for livestock grazing near human settlements than savanna grasses in conservation areas. These findings highlight the importance of comprehensive surveillance to achieve a full understanding of the diversity and ecology of the tick-borne pathogens that can infect humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-8401679 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2021 |
publisher | MDPI |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-84016792021-08-29 Survey of Ticks and Tick-Borne Rickettsial and Protozoan Pathogens in Eswatini Ledger, Kimberly J. Beati, Lorenza Wisely, Samantha M. Pathogens Article Ticks are widespread parasites of vertebrates and major vectors of pathogens to humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. In southern Africa, numerous tick species transmit diseases of economic and health importance. This study aimed to describe the occurrence of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in multiple land-use types and the possible role of ticks in the transmission of pathogen species. Using molecular techniques, we screened 1716 ticks for infection by rickettsial bacteria and protozoans. To characterize pathogen identity, we sequenced multiple loci from positive samples and analyzed sequences within a phylogenetic framework. Across the seven tick species collected as nymphs or adults, we detected Rickettsia, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Babesia, Hepatozoon, and Theileira species. We found that some tick species and tick-borne pathogens differed according to land use. For example, we found a higher density of Haemaphysalis elliptica and higher prevalence of Rickettsia in H. elliptica collected from savanna grasses used for livestock grazing near human settlements than savanna grasses in conservation areas. These findings highlight the importance of comprehensive surveillance to achieve a full understanding of the diversity and ecology of the tick-borne pathogens that can infect humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. MDPI 2021-08-17 /pmc/articles/PMC8401679/ /pubmed/34451507 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10081043 Text en © 2021 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
spellingShingle | Article Ledger, Kimberly J. Beati, Lorenza Wisely, Samantha M. Survey of Ticks and Tick-Borne Rickettsial and Protozoan Pathogens in Eswatini |
title | Survey of Ticks and Tick-Borne Rickettsial and Protozoan Pathogens in Eswatini |
title_full | Survey of Ticks and Tick-Borne Rickettsial and Protozoan Pathogens in Eswatini |
title_fullStr | Survey of Ticks and Tick-Borne Rickettsial and Protozoan Pathogens in Eswatini |
title_full_unstemmed | Survey of Ticks and Tick-Borne Rickettsial and Protozoan Pathogens in Eswatini |
title_short | Survey of Ticks and Tick-Borne Rickettsial and Protozoan Pathogens in Eswatini |
title_sort | survey of ticks and tick-borne rickettsial and protozoan pathogens in eswatini |
topic | Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8401679/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34451507 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10081043 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT ledgerkimberlyj surveyofticksandtickbornerickettsialandprotozoanpathogensineswatini AT beatilorenza surveyofticksandtickbornerickettsialandprotozoanpathogensineswatini AT wiselysamantham surveyofticksandtickbornerickettsialandprotozoanpathogensineswatini |