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The presence of Ehrlichia canis in Rhipicephalus bursa ticks collected from ungulates in continental Eastern Europe

Ioana Adriana Matei

Ioana Adriana Matei

Department of Microbiology, Immunology and EpidemiologyCluj-Napoca, Romania
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Matei, Ioana Adriana
, 
Angela Monica Ionică

Angela Monica Ionică

  • Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary MedicineCluj-Napoca, Romania
  • “Regele Mihai I al României” Life Science Institute, University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary MedicineCluj-Napoca, Romania
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Ionică, Angela Monica
, 
Alexandra Corduneanu

Alexandra Corduneanu

Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary MedicineCluj-Napoca, Romania
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Corduneanu, Alexandra
, 
Cristian Domșa

Cristian Domșa

Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary MedicineCluj-Napoca, Romania
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Domșa, Cristian
 and 
Attila D. Sándor

Attila D. Sándor

  • Department of Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary MedicineCluj-Napoca, Romania
  • Department of Parasitology and Zoology, University of Veterinary MedicineBudapest, Hungary
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Sándor, Attila D.
  
Sep 23, 2021
The presence of Ehrlichia canis in Rhipicephalus bursa ticks collected from ungulates in continental Eastern Europe's Cover Image
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Published Online: Sep 23, 2021
Page range: 271 - 275
Received: Feb 17, 2021
Accepted: Aug 02, 2021
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jvetres-2021-0044
Keywords
© 2021 I.A. Matei et al. published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Introduction

Rhipicephalus bursa is a common tick parasite of small-to-medium size ungulates, principally in warm, temperate, and subtropical areas. Although common in livestock and showing a wide geographic distribution, its epidemiological role in tick-borne bacterial disease is barely known. This study addressed the knowledge gap and aimed to screen for the presence of Anaplasmataceae and spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia species in R. bursa ticks collected from domestic animals in Romania, Eastern Europe.

Material and Methods

A total of 64 pools of R. bursa ticks collected from small ungulates were tested by PCR for Anaplasmataceae DNA presence using group-specific primers. Specific testing was performed for Anaplasma marginale/A. centrale/A. ovis, A. platys, A. phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia canis, and SFG Rickettsia. The positive samples were purified and sequenced, and sequences analysis was used to identify the species and to confirm the PCR results.

Results

The only pathogen identified in this study was E. canis. The obtained sequences confirmed the PCR results. The presence of E. canis in R. bursa in Romania and in ticks from sheep was shown for the first time in this study.

Conclusion

Based on these findings, it may be presumed that the E. canis DNA originated from ticks; however, the vectorial role of R. bursa (and other arthropod species) in the transmission of E. canis should be proved experimentally.
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English
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Journal Subjects:
Life Sciences, Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Virology, Life Sciences, other, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine
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