Journal
PATHOGENS
Volume 9, Issue 11, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9110895
Keywords
Babesia; Theileria; Anaplasma; Ehrlichia; goats; Uganda
Categories
Funding
- Japan International Cooperation Agency-African Business Education Initiative (JICA-ABE Initiative)
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan [18kk0188]
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) Core-to-Core Program
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [18KK0188] Funding Source: KAKEN
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Ticks and tick-borne diseases are major impediments to livestock production. To date, there have been several studies on the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in cattle, but very few studies have documented TBPs in goats in Uganda. In this study, polymerase chain reaction assays and sequence analysis of different molecular markers were used to assess the presence and genetic characteristics of TBPs in 201 goats from Kasese district in western Uganda. The risk factors associated with TBP infections were also analyzed. We detected Theileria spp. (13.4%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (10.9%), Anaplasma ovis (5.5%), Babesia ovis (5.5%), and Ehrlichia ruminantium (0.5%). The sequences of B. ovis ssu rRNA and A. ovis msp4 genes showed some degree of diversity among the parasite isolates in this study. The E. ruminantium pCS20 sequence formed a well-supported clade with isolates from Amblyomma variegatum ticks from Uganda. Wildlife interaction, sampling location, low body condition score, tick infestation, and herd size were significantly associated with TBP infections in the goats. The findings in this study provide important information on the epidemiology of tick-borne pathogens in Uganda, and show that goats could be potential reservoirs for tick-borne pathogens.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available