Tick-borne haemoparasites in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) from two wildlife areas in northern Botswana

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dc.contributor.author Eygelaar, Dewald
dc.contributor.author Jori, Ferran J.
dc.contributor.author Mokopasetso, Mokganedi
dc.contributor.author Sibeko-Matjila, Kgomotso Penelope
dc.contributor.author Collins, Nicola E.
dc.contributor.author Vorster, Ilse
dc.contributor.author Troskie, Milana
dc.contributor.author Oosthuizen, Marinda C.
dc.date.accessioned 2015-03-24T09:31:25Z
dc.date.available 2015-03-24T09:31:25Z
dc.date.issued 2015-01
dc.description.abstract BACKGROUND : The African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) is a host for many pathogens known to cause economically important diseases and is often considered an important reservoir for livestock diseases. Theileriosis, heartwater, babesiosis and anaplasmosis are considered the most important tick-borne diseases of livestock in sub-Saharan Africa, resulting in extensive economic losses to livestock farmers in endemic areas. Information on the distribution of tick-borne diseases and ticks is scarce in Northern Botswana. Nevertheless, this data is necessary for targeting surveillance and control measures in livestock production at national level. METHODS : In order to address this gap, we analyzed 120 blood samples from buffalo herds for the presence of common tick-borne haemoparasites causing disease in livestock, collected in two of the main wildlife areas of Northern Botswana: the Chobe National Park (CNP, n = 64) and the Okavango Delta (OD, n = 56). RESULTS : Analysis of the reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization assay results revealed the presence of Theileria, Babesia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species, either as single or mixed infections. Among the Theileria spp. present, T. parva (60%) and T. mutans (37%) were the most prevalent. Other species of interest were Anaplasma marginale subsp. centrale (30%), A. marginale (20%), Babesia occultans (23%) and Ehrlichia ruminantium (6%). The indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) indicated 74% of samples to be positive for the presence of T. parva antibodies. Quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) detected the highest level of animals infected with T. parva (81% of the samples). The level of agreement between the tests for detection of T. parva positive animals was higher between qPCR and IFAT (kappa = 0.56), than between qPCR and RLB (kappa = 0.26) or the latter and IFAT (kappa = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS : This is the first report of tick-borne haemoparasites in African buffalo from northern Botswana, where animals from the CNP showed higher levels of infection than those from OD. Considering the absence of fences separating wildlife and livestock in the CNP and the higher levels of some parasite species in buffalo from that area, surveillance of tick-borne diseases in livestock at the interface in the CNP should be prioritized. en_ZA
dc.description.librarian hb2015 en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorship United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization ECTAD Office in Gaborone (LoAPR 43231, New PR 45371) and the South African National Research Foundation (NRF, CSUR program: SUR2009062200001347). It also falls under the Belgian Directorate General for Development Co-operation Framework agreement ITM/DGCD. en_ZA
dc.description.uri http://www.parasitesandvectors.com en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Eygelaar, D, Jori, F, Mokopasetso, M, Sibeko, KP, Collins, NE, Vorster, I, Troskie, M & Oosthuizen, MC 2015, 'Tick-borne haemoparasites in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) from two wildlife areas in northern Botswana', Parasites and Vectors, vol. 8, art. #26, pp. 1-11. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 1776-1042
dc.identifier.other 10.1186/s13071-014-0627-y
dc.identifier.other 24332907600
dc.identifier.other O-6028-2014
dc.identifier.other N-8706-2014
dc.identifier.other 7004592997
dc.identifier.other O-6342-2014
dc.identifier.other 7103250386
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/44132
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher BioMed Central en_ZA
dc.relation.requires Adobe Acrobat Reader en
dc.rights © 2015 Eygelaar et al.; licensee BioMed Central. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0. en_ZA
dc.subject Botswana en_ZA
dc.subject Haemoparasites en_ZA
dc.subject Tick-borne diseases en_ZA
dc.subject Theileria en_ZA
dc.subject Babesia en_ZA
dc.subject Anaplasma en_ZA
dc.subject Ehrlichia en_ZA
dc.subject Reverse line blot hybridization assay en_ZA
dc.subject Real-time PCR en_ZA
dc.subject African buffalo en_ZA
dc.subject Indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) en_ZA
dc.subject Syncerus caffer
dc.title Tick-borne haemoparasites in African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) from two wildlife areas in northern Botswana en_ZA
dc.type Article en_ZA


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