Molecular evidence and phylogenetic delineation of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in Amblyomma ticks from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa
Objective: To determine the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens with a particular focus on Rickettsia spp. in ticks collected from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa. Methods: A total of 200 ticks were collected from cattle within the Madala livestock, Pretoria, Gauteng Province an...
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Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:fc16ee49110f40d691fc659fe685cd82 2023-11-12T04:13:59+01:00 Molecular evidence and phylogenetic delineation of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in Amblyomma ticks from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa Keneilwe Mhlambo Benson C Iweriebor Nqobile Mkolo K O Afolabi Larry C Obi 2023-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-7645.380724 https://doaj.org/article/fc16ee49110f40d691fc659fe685cd82 EN eng Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications http://www.apjtm.org/article.asp?issn=1995-7645;year=2023;volume=16;issue=8;spage=371;epage=378;aulast=Mhlambo https://doaj.org/toc/2352-4146 2352-4146 doi:10.4103/1995-7645.380724 https://doaj.org/article/fc16ee49110f40d691fc659fe685cd82 Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, Vol 16, Iss 8, Pp 371-378 (2023) amblyomma ticks tick-borne pathogen rickettsia cattle south africa Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-7645.380724 2023-10-29T00:38:43Z Objective: To determine the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens with a particular focus on Rickettsia spp. in ticks collected from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa. Methods: A total of 200 ticks were collected from cattle within the Madala livestock, Pretoria, Gauteng Province and in Mankweng Township, Polokwane, Limpopo Province in 2019. The ticks were morphologically identified and processed individually for a total genomic DNA extraction. Specific primers targetting ompA, ompB, and the 17KDa genes were used for a molecular screening and delineation of Rickettsia from the extracted genetic materials using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. PCR amplicons of positive samples were sequenced bidirectionally using the Sanger sequencing method. Sequences generated were processed and analysed using appropriate bioinformatics software. Results: The ticks were morphologically identified as Amblyomma spp. PCR profiling of the genomic DNA samples revealed the presence of the Rickettsia pathogen in 42 (21%) of the ticks collected from both Provinces. Out of the genes profiled, 14 (7%) were positive for 17KDa, 42 (21%) for ompA and 32 (16%) were positive for ompB genes respectively. The nucleotide blast of the sequenced genomes showed high similarity, as high as 100% with other reference Rickettsia (R.) africae in the GenBank. The phylogenetic analysis of the sequences further validated them as R. africae with their characteristic clustering pattern with related reference sequences. Conclusions: There is an abundance of R. africae in Amblyomma ticks collected from cattle in the study areas. This has serious public health implications as individuals who accidentally get infested with the ticks could acquire R. africae. Hence, adequate precautions in terms of sensitization of farmers about the risk and mass mobilization drive to control the vectors in the areas are highly recommended to safeguard public health. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine 16 8 371 378 |
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language |
English |
topic |
amblyomma ticks tick-borne pathogen rickettsia cattle south africa Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
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amblyomma ticks tick-borne pathogen rickettsia cattle south africa Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 Keneilwe Mhlambo Benson C Iweriebor Nqobile Mkolo K O Afolabi Larry C Obi Molecular evidence and phylogenetic delineation of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in Amblyomma ticks from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa |
topic_facet |
amblyomma ticks tick-borne pathogen rickettsia cattle south africa Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine RC955-962 |
description |
Objective: To determine the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens with a particular focus on Rickettsia spp. in ticks collected from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa. Methods: A total of 200 ticks were collected from cattle within the Madala livestock, Pretoria, Gauteng Province and in Mankweng Township, Polokwane, Limpopo Province in 2019. The ticks were morphologically identified and processed individually for a total genomic DNA extraction. Specific primers targetting ompA, ompB, and the 17KDa genes were used for a molecular screening and delineation of Rickettsia from the extracted genetic materials using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. PCR amplicons of positive samples were sequenced bidirectionally using the Sanger sequencing method. Sequences generated were processed and analysed using appropriate bioinformatics software. Results: The ticks were morphologically identified as Amblyomma spp. PCR profiling of the genomic DNA samples revealed the presence of the Rickettsia pathogen in 42 (21%) of the ticks collected from both Provinces. Out of the genes profiled, 14 (7%) were positive for 17KDa, 42 (21%) for ompA and 32 (16%) were positive for ompB genes respectively. The nucleotide blast of the sequenced genomes showed high similarity, as high as 100% with other reference Rickettsia (R.) africae in the GenBank. The phylogenetic analysis of the sequences further validated them as R. africae with their characteristic clustering pattern with related reference sequences. Conclusions: There is an abundance of R. africae in Amblyomma ticks collected from cattle in the study areas. This has serious public health implications as individuals who accidentally get infested with the ticks could acquire R. africae. Hence, adequate precautions in terms of sensitization of farmers about the risk and mass mobilization drive to control the vectors in the areas are highly recommended to safeguard public health. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Keneilwe Mhlambo Benson C Iweriebor Nqobile Mkolo K O Afolabi Larry C Obi |
author_facet |
Keneilwe Mhlambo Benson C Iweriebor Nqobile Mkolo K O Afolabi Larry C Obi |
author_sort |
Keneilwe Mhlambo |
title |
Molecular evidence and phylogenetic delineation of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in Amblyomma ticks from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa |
title_short |
Molecular evidence and phylogenetic delineation of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in Amblyomma ticks from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa |
title_full |
Molecular evidence and phylogenetic delineation of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in Amblyomma ticks from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa |
title_fullStr |
Molecular evidence and phylogenetic delineation of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in Amblyomma ticks from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa |
title_full_unstemmed |
Molecular evidence and phylogenetic delineation of spotted fever group Rickettsia species in Amblyomma ticks from cattle in Gauteng and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa |
title_sort |
molecular evidence and phylogenetic delineation of spotted fever group rickettsia species in amblyomma ticks from cattle in gauteng and limpopo provinces, south africa |
publisher |
Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-7645.380724 https://doaj.org/article/fc16ee49110f40d691fc659fe685cd82 |
genre |
Arctic |
genre_facet |
Arctic |
op_source |
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine, Vol 16, Iss 8, Pp 371-378 (2023) |
op_relation |
http://www.apjtm.org/article.asp?issn=1995-7645;year=2023;volume=16;issue=8;spage=371;epage=378;aulast=Mhlambo https://doaj.org/toc/2352-4146 2352-4146 doi:10.4103/1995-7645.380724 https://doaj.org/article/fc16ee49110f40d691fc659fe685cd82 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.4103/1995-7645.380724 |
container_title |
Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Medicine |
container_volume |
16 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
371 |
op_container_end_page |
378 |
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1782331746163884032 |