Abstract:
In April 2008, whole blood samples were collected from 36 dromedary camels in Sokoto, Northwestern
Nigeria. Following PCR and reverse line blotting, twenty-two samples (61%) resulted positive for
Ehrlichia/Anaplasma spp. and three (8%) for Theileria/Babesia spp., with three (8%) cases of co-infections
being found. Both sequence and BLAST analyses identified Ehrlichia/Anaplasma spp. and Theileria/Babesia
spp. positive cases as Anaplasma platys and Theileria ovis, respectively.
This is the first report of the detection of A. platys and T. ovis in camels from sub-Saharan Africa. The
epidemiological relevance of this finding is enhanced by the close living of these animals with both dogs
and small ruminants. The high prevalence detected for A. platys suggests a possible role of camels as
carriers of this infection.
