Establishing <i>Babesia bovis</i>-Free Tick Colony Following Treatment of the Host with Diminazene Aceturate (Berenil)

<i>Babesia bovis</i> is a widely-spread tick-borne hemoparasite of cattle with major economic and animal welfare consequences. <i>Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus</i> is a one-host tick which transmits bovine babesiosis in the Middle East and Africa. Laboratory rearing of...

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Main Authors: Sharon Tirosh-Levy, Asael Roth, Binyamin Leibovich, Ludmila Fleiderovitz, Ohad Frid, Daniel Yasur-Landau, Ricardo Wolkomirskyi, Monica L. Mazuz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-05-01
Series:Pathogens
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/5/554
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author Sharon Tirosh-Levy
Asael Roth
Binyamin Leibovich
Ludmila Fleiderovitz
Ohad Frid
Daniel Yasur-Landau
Ricardo Wolkomirskyi
Monica L. Mazuz
author_facet Sharon Tirosh-Levy
Asael Roth
Binyamin Leibovich
Ludmila Fleiderovitz
Ohad Frid
Daniel Yasur-Landau
Ricardo Wolkomirskyi
Monica L. Mazuz
author_sort Sharon Tirosh-Levy
collection DOAJ
description <i>Babesia bovis</i> is a widely-spread tick-borne hemoparasite of cattle with major economic and animal welfare consequences. <i>Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus</i> is a one-host tick which transmits bovine babesiosis in the Middle East and Africa. Laboratory rearing of ixodid ticks is essential for the investigation on ticks or tick-borne diseases. Establishing a tick colony in the laboratory usually originates from ticks harvested in the field, which may be naturally infected with various pathogens. This especially applies to carriage of <i>B. bovis</i> as it is highly prevalent in endemic areas and is transmitted transovarially in ticks. Here, we describe the use of diminazene aceturate (Berenil) in order to establish laboratory colonies of <i>Babesia</i>-free <i>R. annulatus</i>, from ticks collected in the field. Ticks collected in the field were kept until oviposition and hatched larvae were introduced to naïve calves, which led to infection of the calves with <i>B. bovis</i>. Calves were then treated with diminazene aceturate several times until the engorged ticks dropped. The eggs and larvae collected from these ticks were parasite-free, as demonstrated both by infection of splenectomized calves and by PCR. This suggested protocol is a useful tool to create parasite-free tick colony and may, theoretically, also be beneficial to reduce parasite circulation in the field, although not recommended, as resistance to diamenizene aceturate might develop.
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spelling doaj.art-2a5cd93891a54c17967dfda5c69037b72023-11-21T18:17:50ZengMDPI AGPathogens2076-08172021-05-0110555410.3390/pathogens10050554Establishing <i>Babesia bovis</i>-Free Tick Colony Following Treatment of the Host with Diminazene Aceturate (Berenil)Sharon Tirosh-Levy0Asael Roth1Binyamin Leibovich2Ludmila Fleiderovitz3Ohad Frid4Daniel Yasur-Landau5Ricardo Wolkomirskyi6Monica L. Mazuz7Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan 50200, IsraelDivision of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan 50200, IsraelDivision of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan 50200, IsraelDivision of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan 50200, IsraelDivision of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan 50200, IsraelDivision of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan 50200, IsraelDivision of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan 50200, IsraelDivision of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Beit Dagan 50200, Israel<i>Babesia bovis</i> is a widely-spread tick-borne hemoparasite of cattle with major economic and animal welfare consequences. <i>Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus</i> is a one-host tick which transmits bovine babesiosis in the Middle East and Africa. Laboratory rearing of ixodid ticks is essential for the investigation on ticks or tick-borne diseases. Establishing a tick colony in the laboratory usually originates from ticks harvested in the field, which may be naturally infected with various pathogens. This especially applies to carriage of <i>B. bovis</i> as it is highly prevalent in endemic areas and is transmitted transovarially in ticks. Here, we describe the use of diminazene aceturate (Berenil) in order to establish laboratory colonies of <i>Babesia</i>-free <i>R. annulatus</i>, from ticks collected in the field. Ticks collected in the field were kept until oviposition and hatched larvae were introduced to naïve calves, which led to infection of the calves with <i>B. bovis</i>. Calves were then treated with diminazene aceturate several times until the engorged ticks dropped. The eggs and larvae collected from these ticks were parasite-free, as demonstrated both by infection of splenectomized calves and by PCR. This suggested protocol is a useful tool to create parasite-free tick colony and may, theoretically, also be beneficial to reduce parasite circulation in the field, although not recommended, as resistance to diamenizene aceturate might develop.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/5/554<i>Babesia bovis</i><i>Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus</i>babesiosisbovinediminazene aceturate
spellingShingle Sharon Tirosh-Levy
Asael Roth
Binyamin Leibovich
Ludmila Fleiderovitz
Ohad Frid
Daniel Yasur-Landau
Ricardo Wolkomirskyi
Monica L. Mazuz
Establishing <i>Babesia bovis</i>-Free Tick Colony Following Treatment of the Host with Diminazene Aceturate (Berenil)
Pathogens
<i>Babesia bovis</i>
<i>Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus</i>
babesiosis
bovine
diminazene aceturate
title Establishing <i>Babesia bovis</i>-Free Tick Colony Following Treatment of the Host with Diminazene Aceturate (Berenil)
title_full Establishing <i>Babesia bovis</i>-Free Tick Colony Following Treatment of the Host with Diminazene Aceturate (Berenil)
title_fullStr Establishing <i>Babesia bovis</i>-Free Tick Colony Following Treatment of the Host with Diminazene Aceturate (Berenil)
title_full_unstemmed Establishing <i>Babesia bovis</i>-Free Tick Colony Following Treatment of the Host with Diminazene Aceturate (Berenil)
title_short Establishing <i>Babesia bovis</i>-Free Tick Colony Following Treatment of the Host with Diminazene Aceturate (Berenil)
title_sort establishing i babesia bovis i free tick colony following treatment of the host with diminazene aceturate berenil
topic <i>Babesia bovis</i>
<i>Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus</i>
babesiosis
bovine
diminazene aceturate
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/10/5/554
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