Journal
PATHOGENS
Volume 11, Issue 3, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11030315
Keywords
Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Anaplasma ovis; small ruminants; duplex PCR assay; Tunisia
Categories
Funding
- Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) [A/026818/09, A/031009/10]
- Spanish National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology (INIA) [RTA2009-000-18-00-00]
- European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
- Ministry for Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Technology in Tunisia
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This study developed a duplex PCR assay targeting specific genes (msp2 and msp4) to analyze Anaplasma infections in small ruminants in Tunisia. The results showed that 78.3% of the analyzed animals were infected with Anaplasma, with A. ovis having a higher prevalence than A. phagocytophilum. A. phagocytophilum generally presented as a co-infection with A. ovis.
Anaplasma species are obligate intracellular rickettsial vector-borne pathogens that impose economic constraints on animal breeders and threaten human health. Anaplasma ovis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum infect sheep and goats worldwide. A duplex PCR targeting the msp2 and msp4 genes of A. phagocytophilum and A. ovis, respectively, was developed to analyze the field blood samples collected from sheep and goats. A total of 263 apparently healthy small ruminants from 16 randomly selected flocks situated in 3 bioclimatic zones in Tunisia were analyzed for Anaplasma infections. Anaplasma spp. was detected in 78.3% (95% confidence interval (CI): 72.8-83.1) of the analyzed animals. The prevalence of A. ovis in sheep (80.4%) and goats (70.3%) was higher than that of A. phagocytophilum (7.0% in sheep and 1.6% in goats). Using an inexpensive, specific, and rapid duplex PCR assay, we provide, to the best of our knowledge, the first molecular evidence for the presence of A. phagocytophilum in small ruminants in Tunisia. A. phagocytophilum generally presented as a co-infection with A. ovis. This study provides important data to understand the epidemiology of anaplasmosis in small ruminants, and highlights the risk of contracting the infection upon tick exposure.
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