Department of Protozoology, Institute of Tropical Medicine (NEKKEN), Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
Department of Clinical Science, University of Zabol, Veterinary Faculty, Zabol, Iran.
PLoS One. 2019 Jun 20;14(6):e0218609. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218609. eCollection 2019.
Several vector-borne pathogens restrict livestock farming and have significant economic impact worldwide. In endemic areas livestock are exposed to different tick species carrying various pathogens which could result in co-infection with several tick-borne pathogens in a single host. Although the co-infection of and the interaction among pathogens are critical factors to determine the disease outcome, pathogen interactions in the vector and the host are poorly understood. In this study, we surveyed the presence of Babesia ovis, Theileria ovis, Theileria lestoquardi, Anaplasma ovis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Anaplasma marginale in 200 goats from 3 different districts in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran. Species-specific diagnostic PCRs and sequence analysis revealed that 1.5%, 12.5%, and 80% of samples were positive for T. lestoquardi, T. ovis, and A. ovis, respectively. Co-infections of goats with up to 3 pathogens were seen in 22% of the samples. We detected a significant association between T. ovis infection and age, T. ovis infection and location (Zabol), and A. ovis infection and location (Sarbaz) by multivariate logistic regression analysis. In addition, by analyzing the data with respect to Plasmodium caprae infection in these goats, a negative correlation was found between P. caprae and A. ovis infection. This study contributes to understanding the epidemiology of vector-borne pathogens and their interplay in goats.
几种虫媒病原体限制了畜牧业的发展，并在全球范围内造成了重大的经济影响。在流行地区，牲畜会接触到携带各种病原体的不同蜱种，这可能导致宿主同时感染几种蜱传病原体。尽管病原体的共同感染和相互作用是决定疾病结果的关键因素，但载体和宿主中病原体的相互作用知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们调查了来自伊朗锡斯坦和俾路支省 3 个不同地区的 200 只山羊中是否存在绵羊巴贝斯虫、绵羊泰勒虫、莱氏泰勒虫、绵羊无浆体、犬无形体和边缘无浆体。物种特异性诊断 PCR 和序列分析显示，T. lestoquardi、T. ovis 和 A. ovis 的阳性率分别为 1.5%、12.5%和 80%。在 22%的样本中，山羊同时感染了多达 3 种病原体。多元逻辑回归分析显示，T. ovis 感染与年龄、T. ovis 感染与地点（扎博勒）以及 A. ovis 感染与地点（萨尔巴兹）之间存在显著相关性。此外，通过分析这些山羊中感染疟原虫的相关数据，发现疟原虫与 A. ovis 感染之间存在负相关。本研究有助于了解虫媒病原体的流行病学及其在山羊中的相互作用。
