Mtshali Khethiwe, Nakao Ryo, Sugimoto Chihiro, Thekisoe Oriel
Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of the Free State; Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University.
J S Afr Vet Assoc. 2017 May 19;88(0):e1-e6. doi: 10.4102/jsava.v88i0.1390.
Ticks are major vectors of arthropod-borne infections and transmit a wide variety of zoonotic pathogens. This study was conducted mainly to determine the occurrence of canine tick-borne bacterial and rickettsial pathogens especially those with zoonotic potential. We examined 276 Rhipicephalus sanguineus, 38 Haemaphysalis elliptica and 4 Amblyomma hebraeum ticks from 90 dogs and 4 cats from the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, North West and Mpumalanga provinces. DNA of Coxiella burnetii (41%), Ehrlichia or Anaplasma (18%), Rickettsia spp. (37%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum-like bacterium (18%) and Ehrlichia canis (19%) was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from a total of 147 pooled DNA samples. All samples were negative for the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi DNA. Ehrlichia canis was detected in samples from all the provinces except the North West; A. phagocytophilum was absent in KwaZulu-Natal samples, whereas Rickettsia species and C. burnetii were detected in all sampled provinces. The PCRpositive samples were confirmed by direct sequencing of the product. Data from this study calls for a joint effort by both veterinary and medical sectors to conduct epidemiological studies of the zoonotic pathogens in both animals and humans.
蜱是节肢动物传播感染的主要媒介，可传播多种人畜共患病原体。本研究主要旨在确定犬蜱传播的细菌和立克次氏体病原体的存在情况，尤其是那些具有人畜共患病潜力的病原体。我们检查了来自自由邦、夸祖鲁 - 纳塔尔、西北和姆普马兰加省的90只狗和4只猫身上的276只血红扇头蜱、38只椭圆血蜱和4只希伯来花蜱。通过聚合酶链反应（PCR）从总共147个混合DNA样本中检测到了伯纳特柯克斯体（41%）、埃立克体或无形体（18%）、立克次氏体属（37%）、嗜吞噬细胞无形体样细菌（18%）和犬埃立克体（19%）的DNA。所有样本中均未检测到伯氏疏螺旋体DNA。除西北省外，在所有省份的样本中均检测到了犬埃立克体；夸祖鲁 - 纳塔尔省的样本中未检测到嗜吞噬细胞无形体，而在所有采样省份均检测到了立克次氏体属和伯纳特柯克斯体。通过对PCR阳性产物进行直接测序对样本进行了确认。本研究的数据呼吁兽医和医疗部门共同努力，对动物和人类中的人畜共患病原体进行流行病学研究。
