Molecular Detection and Genetic Diversity of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Goats from the Southern Part of Thailand.

Tick-borne hemoprotozoan and rickettsial diseases affect the health and productivity of small ruminants in tropical and subtropical regions. Despite the large population of goats in the southern part of Thailand, there is limited information on the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens. In this study, polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the presence of spp., , , , , and in 262 goats from three provinces in the southern part of Thailand. In this investigation, spp. and were detected while , , and were not detected. Overall infection rates of spp. and were 10.3% and 1.5%, respectively. The co-infections of two parasites was observed in 1.5% of goats. Sequence analysis showed the presence of and in the goat samples. This study is the first to use the molecular detection of in Thai goats, and presents genetic characterization using the major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) gene. In the phylogenetic analysis, the MPSP sequence was classified as type 7. The major surface protein 4 (MSP4) gene sequences shared high identities and similarity with each other and clustered with isolates from other regions. This study provides information about the prevalence and genetic diversity of tick-borne pathogens in goats in the study area, and is expected to be valuable for the development of effective control measures to prevent disease in animals in Thailand.