Molecular detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Coxiella burnetii, Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Rickettsia spp. in ticks collected from wild animals in six provinces of South Africa

Ticks carry and transmit various pathogens, which may be of veterinary and medical importance. There is limited information on the presence of tick-borne zoonotic pathogens in wild animals in southern Africa. The aim of our study was to detect five bacteria (Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Coxiella burnetii, Ehrlichia chaffeensis and Rickettsia species) in ticks collected from wild animals in six provinces of South Africa. A total of 2268 ticks (911 Amblyomma, 683 Haemaphysalis, 655 Rhipicephalus, eight Hyalomma, six Ixodes and five Ornithodoros) were used for DNA isolation. In total 870 samples of ticks pooled (adults individually, five nymphs per sample, and ten larvae per sample), with respect to tick genera, sex, developmental stage, year, season, and locality of sampling, were subjected to PCR. Bacterial infection was detected in 453 (52 %) samples, with single infection in 290 (33 %) and co-infection in 163 (18.7 %) samples. Amblyomma, and Rhipicephalus ticks were infected with diverse pathogens, whereas Ixodes and Ornithodoros ticks were generally infected with a single bacterium (Anaplasma or Rickettsia); whereas Hyalomma were negative. The highest prevalence was detected for A. phagocytophilum (32 %), followed by E. chaffeensis (21 %), Rickettsia spp. (17 %), C. burnetii (3 %), and B. burgdorferi s.l. (0.5 %). The results statistically differed in tick genus, sex and developmental stage, year of sampling, and provinces. The results of this study present new knowledge about five bacterial infections in ticks collected in six provinces of South Africa which may provide the basis for more extensive epidemiological research in this area.