National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan.
State Key Laboratory of Plateau Ecology and Agriculture Qinghai University, Center for Biomedicine and Infectious Disease, Qinghai Academy of Animal Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, Qinghai University,Xining 810016, China.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2020 Sep;11(5):101466. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101466. Epub 2020 May 24.
Due to the specific plateau climate, a variety of unique animals live in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Area (QTPA) including yaks (Bos grunniens), Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries) and Bactrian camels (Camelus bactrianus). However, information on tick-borne diseases (TBDs) in the QTPA and on the molecular characteristics of tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in the area is limited. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate Anaplasma spp., Babesia spp., Theileria spp., Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Rickettsia spp. infecting yaks, Tibetan sheep and camels in this area. A total of 276 animals were screened. Overall, 84.5% (164/194) of yaks, 58% (23/40) of Tibetan sheep, and 38% (16/42) of camels tested positive for at least one pathogen. Theileria spp., Anaplasma ovis and spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia spp. were detected as TBPs in the current study with overall infection rates of 10.9% (30/276), 8.3% (23/276) and 62.9% (171/276), respectively. Further study revealed that 1.5% (3/194) of the yaks were infected with Theileria sp. OT3, 1.5% (3/194) with T. luwenshuni, 6.2% (12/194) with T. uilenbergi, 1.1% (2/194) with T. ovis and 82% (159/194) with SFG Rickettsia spp. It was also shown that 58% (23/40) of the Tibetan sheep were infected with A. ovis and 15% (6/40) with T. ovis. Among the camels, 10% (4/42) were infected with T. equi, while 29% (12/42) were positive for Rickettsia spp. Sequence analysis revealed that the Rickettsia spp. infecting yaks and camels were Rickettsia raoultii and Rickettsia slovaca. To the best of our knowledge, this study reports the first detection and characterization of these pathogens in yaks, Tibetan sheep and camels in the country, except for T. luwenshuni infections in yaks.
由于高原特有的气候，包括牦牛（Bos grunniens）、藏绵羊（Ovis aries）和双峰驼（Camelus bactrianus）在内的多种特有动物生活在青藏高原地区（QTPA）。然而，有关该地区蜱传疾病（TBDs）和该地区蜱传病原体（TBPs）的分子特征的信息有限。因此，本研究的目的是调查感染该地区牦牛、藏绵羊和骆驼的无形体属、巴贝斯虫属、泰勒虫属、伯氏疏螺旋体和斑点热群（SFG）立克次体。共筛选了 276 只动物。总体而言，194 只牦牛中有 84.5%（164/194）、40 只藏绵羊中有 58%（23/40）和 42 只骆驼中有 38%（16/42）至少检测到一种病原体呈阳性。泰勒虫属、无形体属和斑点热群立克次体被检测为当前研究中的 TBPs，总感染率分别为 10.9%（30/276）、8.3%（23/276）和 62.9%（171/276）。进一步研究表明，1.5%（3/194）的牦牛感染了无形体属 OT3，1.5%（3/194）感染了卢氏泰勒虫，6.2%（12/194）感染了吴氏泰勒虫，1.1%（2/194）感染了绵羊泰勒虫，82%（159/194）感染了 SFG 立克次体。还表明，40 只藏绵羊中有 58%（23/40）感染了无形体属，15%（6/40）感染了绵羊泰勒虫。在骆驼中，10%（4/42）感染了马泰勒虫，而 29%（12/42）感染了立克次体。序列分析表明，感染牦牛和骆驼的立克次体为拉乌尔泰勒菌和斯洛伐克立克次体。据我们所知，除牦牛感染卢氏泰勒虫外，本研究首次报道了这些病原体在牦牛、藏绵羊和骆驼中的检测和特征。
