Molecular identification of tick-borne pathogens in tick Haemaphysalis longicornis from sheep in Henan, China

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases are one of the most important classes of disease in animal husbandry and cause severe economic losses.In this study, 660 adult female ticks were collected from sheep in nine localities in Henan Province, China. All were identified asHaemaphysalis longicornis , confirmed with light microscopy and PCR amplification. The pathogens identified in these ticks includedbacteria of the genusAnaplasma( Anaplasma ovis ,A. bovis ,A. phagocytophilum ) and piroplasmal protozoans ( Theileria luwenshuni , Babesia motasi ). Our results show the high prevalence ofA. bovis(20.4%, 135/660) andT. luwenshuni(14.4%, 95/660) in the ticksfrom sheep, whereasA. ovis ,A. phagocytophilum , andB. motasioccurred in 2.3% (15/660), 1.5% (10/660), and 0.75% (5/660) of ticks,respectively. This is the first report ofB. motasiinH. longicornisin China. In contrast, noT. uilenbergiinfection was found in thisstudy. These results confirm thatH. longicornisis the most common tick species in sheep in Henan Province and can transmitA.phagocytophilum , a well-known zoonotic pathogen of public-health and veterinary significance. Importantly, these results suggest thatA. bovis , transmitted byH. longicornis , is a predominant pathogen of sheep in this region.