Molecular detection of selected tick-borne hemo-parasites in small ruminants from Seno and Oudalan provinces, Burkina Faso

Abstract

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) restrict livestock farming and have significant economic impact in sub-Saharan Africa. In endemic areas livestock are exposed to different tick species carrying various pathogens and they transmit them to livestock. Small ruminants in Sahel region plays important role in human livelihood, however, there is scarcity of information on the TBDs epidemiology in this region. Therefore, our study was aimed at providing an overview of the occurrence of TBDs in Seno and Oudalan provinces of Burkina Faso. We used PCR and sequencing to analyze 79 blood samples collected from sheep and goats to detect the tick-borne pathogens (TBPs). The PCR assays used to analyze samples were targeting Theileria ovis SSU rRNA, Ehrlichia ruminantium pCS20, Anaplasma ovis AoMSP4, Anaplasma phagocytophilum Epank1, Babesia ovis SSU rRNA and Theileria spp. 18S rRNA genes. PCR screening revealed that T. ovis and A. ovis were the only pathogens detected in this study. The prevalence rates for T. ovis and A. ovis were 29/79 (36.7%) and 33/79 (41.8%), respectively. Mixed infections were detected in 22/79 (27.9%) samples of this study. Sequence analysis of T. ovis SSU rRNA gene indicated that the gene is conserved among T. ovis isolates in the study area with sequence identity values of 100%. The A. ovis AoMSP4 gene sequences showed that the gene is conserved among the A. ovis isolates in the study area with the sequence identity values of 100%. All A. ovis appeared in the same clade on a phylogenetic tree based on AoMSP4 gene sequences. Likewise, the T. ovis sequences of this study appeared in the same clade of the phylogenetic tree based on SSU rRNA gene. This study provides an overview of the presence of important tick-borne pathogens in small ruminants of Seno and Oudalan provinces of Burkina Faso.