Molecular Survey and Spatial Distribution of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. in Ticks Infesting Free-Ranging Wild Animals in Pakistan (2017–2021)
<i>Rickettsia</i> spp. associated with ticks infesting wild animals have been mostly neglected in several countries, including Pakistan. To address this knowledge gap, ticks were collected during 2017 to 2021 from wild animals including cats (<i>Felis chaus</i>), Indian hedge...
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Pathogens |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/2/162 |
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| author | Abid Ali Shehla Shehla Hafsa Zahid Farman Ullah Ismail Zeb Haroon Ahmed Itabajara da Silva Vaz Tetsuya Tanaka |
| author_facet | Abid Ali Shehla Shehla Hafsa Zahid Farman Ullah Ismail Zeb Haroon Ahmed Itabajara da Silva Vaz Tetsuya Tanaka |
| author_sort | Abid Ali |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. associated with ticks infesting wild animals have been mostly neglected in several countries, including Pakistan. To address this knowledge gap, ticks were collected during 2017 to 2021 from wild animals including cats (<i>Felis chaus</i>), Indian hedgehogs (<i>Paraechinus micropus</i>), and wild boars (<i>Sus scrofa</i>). The collected ticks were morpho-molecularly identified and screened for the detection of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. Morphologically identified ticks were categorized into four species of the genus <i>Rhipicephalus</i>: <i>Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides</i>, <i>Rh. turanicus</i>, <i>Rh. sanguineus</i> sensu lato (s.l), and <i>Rh. microplus</i>. Among 53 wild animals examined, 31 were infested by 531 ticks, an overall prevalence of 58.4%. Adult female ticks were predominant (242 out of 513 ticks collected, corresponding to 46%) in comparison with males (172, 32%), nymphs (80, 15%) and larvae (37, 7%). The most prevalent tick species was <i>Rh. turanicus</i> (266, 50%), followed by <i>Rh. microplus</i> (123, 23%), <i>Rh. sanguineus</i> (106, 20%), and <i>Rh. haemaphysaloides</i> (36, 7%). Among the screened wild animals, wild boars were the most highly infested, with 268 ticks being collected from these animals (50.4%), followed by cats (145, 27.3%) and hedgehogs (118, 22.3%). Tick species <i>Rh. haemaphysaloides</i>, <i>Rh. turanicus</i>, and <i>Rh. sanguineus</i> were found on wild boars, <i>Rh. haemaphysaloides</i>, and <i>Rh. microplus</i> on cats, and <i>Rh. turanicus</i> on hedgehogs. In a phylogenetic analysis, mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase 1 (<i>cox1</i>) sequences obtained from a subsample (120) of the collected ticks clustered with sequences from Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Myanmar, and Pakistan, while <i>16S</i> ribosomal DNA (<i>16S rDNA</i>) sequences clustered with sequences reported from Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Romania, Serbia, and Taiwan. Among <i>Rickettsia</i> infected ticks (10/120, 8.3%), <i>Rh. turanicus</i> (7/10, 70%), and <i>Rh. haemaphysaloides</i> (3/10, 30%) were found infesting wild boars in the districts Mardan and Charsadda. The obtained rickettsial <i>gltA</i> gene sequences showed 99% and <i>ompA</i> gene sequences showed 100% identity with <i>Rickettsia massiliae</i>, and the phylogenetic tree shows <i>ompA</i> clustered with the same species reported from France, Greece, Spain, and USA. This study emphasizes the need for effective surveillance and control programs in the region to prevent health risks due to tick-borne pathogens, and that healthy infested wild animals may play a role in the spread of these parasites. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:16:38Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
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| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T21:16:38Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Pathogens |
| spelling | doaj.art-204e10f5e36545d09d3587fa4aa201fe2023-11-23T21:31:22ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172022-01-0111216210.3390/pathogens11020162Molecular Survey and Spatial Distribution of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. in Ticks Infesting Free-Ranging Wild Animals in Pakistan (2017–2021)Abid Ali0Shehla Shehla1Hafsa Zahid2Farman Ullah3Ismail Zeb4Haroon Ahmed5Itabajara da Silva Vaz6Tetsuya Tanaka7Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, PakistanDepartment of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, PakistanDepartment of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, PakistanDepartment of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, PakistanDepartment of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan 23200, PakistanDepartment of Biosciences, COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), Islamabad 45550, PakistanCentro de Biotecnologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre 91501-970, BrazilLaboratory of Infectious Diseases, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, 1-21-24 Korimoto, Kagoshima 890-0065, Japan<i>Rickettsia</i> spp. associated with ticks infesting wild animals have been mostly neglected in several countries, including Pakistan. To address this knowledge gap, ticks were collected during 2017 to 2021 from wild animals including cats (<i>Felis chaus</i>), Indian hedgehogs (<i>Paraechinus micropus</i>), and wild boars (<i>Sus scrofa</i>). The collected ticks were morpho-molecularly identified and screened for the detection of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. Morphologically identified ticks were categorized into four species of the genus <i>Rhipicephalus</i>: <i>Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides</i>, <i>Rh. turanicus</i>, <i>Rh. sanguineus</i> sensu lato (s.l), and <i>Rh. microplus</i>. Among 53 wild animals examined, 31 were infested by 531 ticks, an overall prevalence of 58.4%. Adult female ticks were predominant (242 out of 513 ticks collected, corresponding to 46%) in comparison with males (172, 32%), nymphs (80, 15%) and larvae (37, 7%). The most prevalent tick species was <i>Rh. turanicus</i> (266, 50%), followed by <i>Rh. microplus</i> (123, 23%), <i>Rh. sanguineus</i> (106, 20%), and <i>Rh. haemaphysaloides</i> (36, 7%). Among the screened wild animals, wild boars were the most highly infested, with 268 ticks being collected from these animals (50.4%), followed by cats (145, 27.3%) and hedgehogs (118, 22.3%). Tick species <i>Rh. haemaphysaloides</i>, <i>Rh. turanicus</i>, and <i>Rh. sanguineus</i> were found on wild boars, <i>Rh. haemaphysaloides</i>, and <i>Rh. microplus</i> on cats, and <i>Rh. turanicus</i> on hedgehogs. In a phylogenetic analysis, mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase 1 (<i>cox1</i>) sequences obtained from a subsample (120) of the collected ticks clustered with sequences from Bangladesh, China, India, Iran, Myanmar, and Pakistan, while <i>16S</i> ribosomal DNA (<i>16S rDNA</i>) sequences clustered with sequences reported from Afghanistan, Egypt, India, Pakistan, Romania, Serbia, and Taiwan. Among <i>Rickettsia</i> infected ticks (10/120, 8.3%), <i>Rh. turanicus</i> (7/10, 70%), and <i>Rh. haemaphysaloides</i> (3/10, 30%) were found infesting wild boars in the districts Mardan and Charsadda. The obtained rickettsial <i>gltA</i> gene sequences showed 99% and <i>ompA</i> gene sequences showed 100% identity with <i>Rickettsia massiliae</i>, and the phylogenetic tree shows <i>ompA</i> clustered with the same species reported from France, Greece, Spain, and USA. This study emphasizes the need for effective surveillance and control programs in the region to prevent health risks due to tick-borne pathogens, and that healthy infested wild animals may play a role in the spread of these parasites.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/2/162wild animals<i>Rhipicephalus</i><i>Rickettsia</i>Khyber PakhtunkhwaPakistan |
| spellingShingle | Abid Ali Shehla Shehla Hafsa Zahid Farman Ullah Ismail Zeb Haroon Ahmed Itabajara da Silva Vaz Tetsuya Tanaka Molecular Survey and Spatial Distribution of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. in Ticks Infesting Free-Ranging Wild Animals in Pakistan (2017–2021) Pathogens wild animals <i>Rhipicephalus</i> <i>Rickettsia</i> Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan |
| title | Molecular Survey and Spatial Distribution of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. in Ticks Infesting Free-Ranging Wild Animals in Pakistan (2017–2021) |
| title_full | Molecular Survey and Spatial Distribution of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. in Ticks Infesting Free-Ranging Wild Animals in Pakistan (2017–2021) |
| title_fullStr | Molecular Survey and Spatial Distribution of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. in Ticks Infesting Free-Ranging Wild Animals in Pakistan (2017–2021) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Molecular Survey and Spatial Distribution of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. in Ticks Infesting Free-Ranging Wild Animals in Pakistan (2017–2021) |
| title_short | Molecular Survey and Spatial Distribution of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. in Ticks Infesting Free-Ranging Wild Animals in Pakistan (2017–2021) |
| title_sort | molecular survey and spatial distribution of i rickettsia i spp in ticks infesting free ranging wild animals in pakistan 2017 2021 |
| topic | wild animals <i>Rhipicephalus</i> <i>Rickettsia</i> Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/11/2/162 |
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