Sumaira Sumaira, Rehman Muneer, Hussain Arshad, Mehmood Rashid, Ashraf Nimra, Giantsis Ioannis A, Umer Waqas, Ayesha Ayesha, Ullah Shakir, Khan Adil, Ben Said Mourad, Iqbal Furhan, Swelum Ayman A
Institute of Zoology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan.
Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Environment, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
PLoS One. 2025 May 30;20(5):e0325467. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0325467. eCollection 2025.
Despite a goat population of approximately 80 million in Pakistan during 2020-2021, the prevalence of vector-borne pathogens in goats remains largely underexplored. This study aimed to assess the molecular prevalence and phylogenetic characteristics of Anaplasma ovis, Anaplasma marginale and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in goat blood samples (N = 239) collected from three districts (Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, and Dera Ghazi Khan) in Punjab between September 2023 and October 2024. Blood samples were first screened with generic and then with species specific primers. Molecular analyses revealed a prevalence of 39% for Anaplasma spp. and 14% for A. ovis. A. marginale and A. phagocytophilum were not detected. DNA sequencing, by targeting 16S rRNA and msp4 genes, and BLAST analysis confirmed the presence of Anaplasma spp. and A. ovis, respectively. For both screening, bacterial prevalence rates varied significantly across sampling sites (P = 0.01 for Anaplasma spp. and P = 0.04 for A. ovis). Additionally, the prevalence of Anaplasma spp. significantly differed among goat breeds (P = 0.004), while no association was found between goat sex and bacterial infections (P > 0.05 for both screening). Notably, Anaplasma spp. infection was associated with a significant decrease in red blood cell count and hemoglobin concentration, while A. ovis infection did not affect the complete blood count profile. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that our Anaplasma spp. isolates clustered with those from Iran, Cyprus and China while our A. ovis isolates clustered with those from Pakistan, China, and Sudan. In conclusion, this study reports the presence of Anaplasma spp. and A. ovis in Pakistani goats and recommends large-scale studies across diverse geo-climatic regions to further investigate the epidemiology, genetic diversity and host-parasite interactions for effective control of these infections in local goat populations.
在2020 - 2021年期间，巴基斯坦的山羊数量约为8000万只，但山羊中媒介传播病原体的流行情况在很大程度上仍未得到充分研究。本研究旨在评估2023年9月至2024年10月期间从旁遮普省三个地区（穆扎法尔格尔、拉詹布尔和德拉加齐汗）采集的山羊血样（N = 239）中绵羊无形体、边缘无形体和嗜吞噬细胞无形体的分子流行率和系统发育特征。血样首先用通用引物进行筛查，然后用种特异性引物进行筛查。分子分析显示无形体属的流行率为39%，绵羊无形体的流行率为14%。未检测到边缘无形体和嗜吞噬细胞无形体。通过靶向16S rRNA和msp4基因进行DNA测序以及BLAST分析，分别证实了无形体属和绵羊无形体的存在。对于这两种筛查，细菌流行率在不同采样地点之间存在显著差异（无形体属P = 0.01，绵羊无形体P = 0.04）。此外，无形体属的流行率在山羊品种之间存在显著差异（P = 0.004），而未发现山羊性别与细菌感染之间存在关联（两种筛查的P均> 0.05）。值得注意的是，无形体属感染与红细胞计数和血红蛋白浓度显著降低有关，而绵羊无形体感染并未影响全血细胞计数指标。系统发育分析表明，我们的无形体属分离株与来自伊朗、塞浦路斯和中国的分离株聚类，而我们的绵羊无形体分离株与来自巴基斯坦、中国和苏丹的分离株聚类。总之，本研究报告了巴基斯坦山羊中无形体属和绵羊无形体的存在，并建议在不同地理气候区域开展大规模研究，以进一步调查这些感染的流行病学、遗传多样性和宿主 - 寄生虫相互作用，从而有效控制当地山羊群体中的这些感染。
