Hard tick (Acari: Ixodidae) species of livestock and their seasonal activity in Boyer-Ahmad and Dena cities of Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province, Southwest of Iran

Status of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in ticks in Iran: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a re-emerging viral haemorrhagic fever causing outbreaks in Iran in the last 15 years. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the status of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) in ticks would be evaluated. PubMed, Google Scholar and Web of Science were searched for peer-reviewed original papers published between 2000 and 1 July 2022. We included papers that evaluated the prevalence of CCHFV in individual ticks using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The pooled prevalence of CCHFV was 6.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 4.5-7.9%), with heterogeneity (I² = 82.706; P < 0.0001). The prevalence of CCHFV was higher related to regions with above sea level of 1001-1500 m (6.4%; 95% CI: 4.3-9.5%), an average temperature of ≤15 °C (8.3%; 95% CI: 5.6-12.0%), latitude of ≥36° (8.1%; 95% CI: 5.2-12.3%), an annual rainfall of 101-300 mm (9.8%; 95% CI: 6.1-15.4%) and humidity of ≥61% (10.2%; 95% CI: 5.1-19.3%). Due to the importance of CCHF, it is better to do new epidemiologic studies on ticks by related organizations and adjacent regions of some provinces in which human cases have been previously reported.

Monitoring of hard tick parasitism in domestic ruminants: A scale evidence for policymakers

Domestic ruminants such as camels, cattle, goats, and sheep represent a substantial part of the global world economy. Hard ticks are well-known as obligatory bloodsucking ectoparasites of domestic ruminants. Policymakers need to get results that show the global distribution of tick genera and species, their parasitic levels, and their roles as disease vectors in camels, cattle, goats, and sheep. Iran is endemic to a broad range of hard tick-borne diseases. A study that reviews the tick genera and species, life stage, seasonal and attachment site parasitism levels, the global mean ranks of tick species parasitism rates and records, and their distribution in target animals would be of particular importance. Accordingly, this review aims to summarize the above objectives. After evaluating the identified articles, 147 were selected to be part of the survey based on the study objectives. Globally, tick parasitism levels were 28.7, 29.9, 36.0 and 47.6% for goats, cattle, sheep, and camels, respectively. The tick parasitism trends have exhibited an increasing trend for camels and sheep over the years while remaining constant for cattle and goats, indicating that current tick control measures are not being properly followed. Ticks tend to parasitize females more than males because males are more resistant to certain pests than females. The distribution of tick genera and species, their parasitism levels, and their roles as disease vectors provided. This information addresses the needs of decision-makers to make decisions.

Detection and Molecular Characterization of Babesia canis vogeli and Theileria annulata in Free-Ranging Dogs and Ticks from Shahriar County, Tehran Province, Iran

Background:

We aimed to detect and characterize vector-borne parasites of Babesia and Theileria in dog and ticks by PCR assay. Canine babesiosis is a significant tick-borne disease caused by different Babesia species. As the infection has not been reported in Shahriar region Tehran, Iran, molecular techniques allowed us to identify tick-borne parasites in asymptomatic dogs.

Methods:

The number of 40 dog peripheral blood samples and 27 skin attached ticks were analyzed by molecular PCR assay. The specific primers were used for detecting Babesia canis, B. gibsoni and T. annulata.

Results:

B. c. vogeli was detected in 10 dog blood samples (25%). Additionally, T. annulata infection was identified in 13 dog blood samples (32.5%) and 18 isolated tick DNAs (66.7%). The results of PCR were confirmed by 18S rRNA and Tams1 gene sequence analyzing and have been registered in GenBank under following accession numbers for B. c. vogeli (MH793502) and T. annulata (MK105284). Conclusion: The verification of T. annulata infection in free-ranging dogs and ticks shows dogs might be considered as important natural carriers/reservoirs for T. annulata in enzootic region for bovine theileriosis. The obtained data may be useful for veterinary practitioners and dog owners to aware of Babesia and Theileria infection in dog and tick to establish the effective preventive measures.

Ectoparasites of feral horses [Equus ferus caballus (Linnaeus., 1758)] on Karadağ Mountain, Karaman, Turkey

Approximately 250 feral horses [Equus ferus caballus (Linnaeus, 1758)] living on Karadağ Mountain near Karaman City were caught by Kazakh horse herdsmen with permission of the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and brought to a farm in Karkın village in Konya Province, 70 km from Karadağ, in November, 2017. This study was carried out to determine the presence of ectoparasites infesting a subsample of 36 feral horses. The horses were visually inspected, and then their bodies were checked by hand for ectoparasites. Thirty-five (97.2%) were infested with at least one of five species of ectoparasites: Bovicola equi (Linnaeus, 1758), Hippobosca equina (Linnaeus, 1758), Haemaphysalis parva (Neuman, 1897), Hyalomma excavatum (Koch, 18449), Dermacentor marginatus (Sulzer, 1776). Most of the horses were coinfested with two ectoparasite species. Prevalence of infestation with H. equina was 80.6% and with B. equi 72.2%. In addition, prevalence of Ha. parva was 25.0%, Hy. excavatum 13.9%, and D. marginatus was 5.6%. This is the first systematic examination for external parasites of feral horses in Turkey. Further studies are needed to determine ectoparasites of greater numbers of feral horses in different localities.

The occurrence of hemotropic Mycoplasma ovis-like species in horses

Hemotropic mycoplasmas (haemoplasmas) are wall-less bacteria, which may lead to anemia and, even, mortality in mammals. The present study was aimed to characterize the causative agent(s) of haemoplasma infection in blood samples taken from horses (n = 133) in south of Iran. Microscopic examination of blood smears and PCR assay were performed for the detection of hemotropic Mycoplasma and equine piroplasma (Babesia caballi and Theileria equi). For the purpose of molecular characterization, 16S rDNA and 18S rDNA markers were used for hemotropic Mycoplasma and piroplasma pathogens, respectively. The PCR-positive samples were sequenced for haemoplasma and further phylogenetic analysis was performed for the obtained haemoplasma sequences. Nine out of 133 (6.77 %, 95 % CI: 2.5-11.04 %) horses were positive for Mycoplasma sp. by PCR. Furthermore, three of these animals were co-infected with T. equi. Interestingly, the phylogenetic and molecular analysis of the haemoplasma sequences derived from the PCR amplicons in the equine positive cases showed 100 % identity with 16S rDNA in Mycoplasma ovis, an HM member mainly found in sheep and goats. In addition, the hematological analysis showed that PCR positive horses for M. ovis-like species had a lower hematocrit (Hct), hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, and red blood cell (RBC) count compared to the PCR negative ones (P ≤ 0.05). Mild anemia was also developed in the haemoplasma-positive horses. These findings represent the first molecular evidence of M. ovis-like species in horses. Further experimental studies are needed to examine the importance of this nonspecific host infection and evaluate its pathogenicity in equine and other species.

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) seroprevalence: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is the most widespread, tick-borne viral disease affecting humans and therefore this paper performed a meta-analysis to highlight seroprevalence features of CCHF in a global context. After a preliminary review of the 396 papers representing areas throughout the world, 206 were selected for detailed meta-analysis. In general the total means of CCHF seroprevalence were, respectively 4.7 and 24.6% for humans and animals; and 17.1, 18.9, 24.3, 29.3 and 27.1% for camels, cattle, goats, sheep and livestock. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference in seroprevalence between humans and camels (P = 0.043), cattle (P = 0.010), goats (P = 0.015), sheep (P = 0.005) and livestock (P = 0.017). Regionally, there also was a difference between humans, and goats (P = 0.0001), sheep (P = 0.007) and livestock (P = 0.002). Globally, CCHF seroprevalence in at-risk professionals was 7.5 fold greater than in normal humans, while CCHF seroprevalence was 5 fold greater in animals, camels, cattle, goats, sheep and livestock than normal humans. Animal contact, animal husbandry, farming, tick bite history and secretion exposure were the most frequently reported CCHF seropositivity risk factors. This study serves as an important resource for epidemiological discussions related to CCHF and CCHF seroprevalence features, providing specific information in understanding human and animal mean and trend CCHF seroprevalence for different regions of the world and on an aggregate global scale; seroprevalence in at-risk professionals; and total mean and trend CCHF seropositivity involving risk factors.