Detection of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies in buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in the state of Pará, Brazil

Global prevalence and species diversity of tick-borne pathogens in buffaloes worldwide: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Buffaloes are important contributors to the livestock economy in many countries, particularly in Asia, and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) commonly infect buffaloes, giving rise to serious pathologies other than their zoonotic potential.

METHODS

The present investigation focuses on the prevalence of TBPs infecting buffaloes worldwide. All published global data on TBPs in buffaloes were collected from different databases (e.g., PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar) and subjected to various meta-analyses using OpenMeta[Analyst] software, and all analyses were conducted based on a 95% confidence interval.

RESULTS

Over 100 articles discussing the prevalence and species diversity of TBPs in buffaloes were retrieved. Most of these reports focused on water buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis), whereas a few reports on TBPs in African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) had been published. The pooled global prevalence of the apicomplexan parasites Babesia and Theileria, as well as the bacterial pathogens Anaplasma, Coxiella burnetii, Borrelia, Bartonella, and Ehrlichia in addition to Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus, were all evaluated based on the detection methods and 95% confidence intervals. Interestingly, no Rickettsia spp. were detected in buffaloes with scarce data. TBPs of buffaloes displayed a fairly high species diversity, which underlines the high infection risk to other animals, especially cattle. Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, B. orientalis, B. occultans and B. naoakii, Theileria annulata, T. orientalis complex (orientalis/sergenti/buffeli), T. parva, T. mutans, T. sinensis, T. velifera, T. lestoquardi-like, T. taurotragi, T. sp. (buffalo) and T. ovis, and Anaplasma marginale, A. centrale, A. platys, A. platys-like and "Candidatus Anaplasma boleense" were all were identified from naturally infected buffaloes.

CONCLUSIONS

Several important aspects were highlighted for the status of TBPs, which have serious economic implications for the buffalo as well as cattle industries, particularly in Asian and African countries, which should aid in the development and implementation of prevention and control methods for veterinary care practitioners, and animal owners.

The presence of Borrelia theileri in Argentina

The presence of Borrelia theileri in Argentina is confirmed after recording the spirochete from a bovine in northern Argentina. The analysis of sequences of the flagellin gene (fla) and length of Borrelia spp. specimens on thick blood films shows that the local isolate clusters within a well-supported clade with B. theileri isolates from different geographical origins, confirming the presence of B. theileri in Argentina. The mean length of 30 specimens of B. theileri was 12.89 μm (standard deviation 2.88 μm, range 9.35-20.16 μm). The only known vector of Borrelia theileri in northern Argentina is the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus, therefore Borrelia infection should be regarded as a potential complication of other cattle tick-borne diseases such as babesiosis, especially on cattle introduced from areas free of R. microplus. The possibility of serologic cross-reaction with B. theileri must not be minimized in studies of other spirochaetes in the R. microplus infested region of Argentina.