Canine and ovine tick-borne pathogens in camels, Nigeria

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Authors

Lorusso, Vincenzo
Wijnveld, Michiel
Latrofa, Maria S.
Fajinmi, Akinyemi
Majekodunmi, Ayodele O.
Dogo, Abraham G.
Igweh, Augustine C.
Otranto, Domenico
Jongejan, Frans
Welburn, Susan C.

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Elsevier

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.

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Keywords

Anaplasma platys, Theileria ovis, Camelus dromedarius, Camel, Tick-borne diseases, Nigeria, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)

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Citation

Lorusso, V, Wijnveld, M, Latrofa, MS, Fajinmi, A, Majekodunmi, AO, Dogo, AG, Igweh, AC, Otranto, D, Jongejan, F, Welburn, SC & Picozzi, K 2016, 'Canine and ovine tick-borne pathogens in camels, Nigeria', Veterinary Parasitology, vol. 228, pp. 90-92.