Molecular epidemiological investigation of Babesia infection in ticks parasitized on domestic animals in Xinyang, Henan Province

doi:10.12140/j.issn.1000-7423.2023.05.007

Abstract

Abstract:

Objective To understand the infection of Babesia in ticks parasitized on domestic animals in Xinyang, Henan Province. Methods Tick specimens were collected from domestic animals in Guangshan County and Shangcheng County, Xinyang City, Henan Province, from June to August 2022. The tick species were identified by morphology and 16S rDNA. Genomic DNA was extracted from tick specimens, and nested-PCR was performed to amplify 18S rRNA gene sequence of Babesia. The PCR products were sequenced and aligned by BLAST, and phylogenetic trees were constructed by the neighbor-joining method. Using MEGA7.0 software for homology analysis. Results A total of 335 ticks were collected, including the species of 49 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 208 Rhipicephalus microplus, 1 H. flava, 34 R. annulatus, and 43 H. punctataa, identified by morphology and PCR amplification. The PCR amplification results showed that 2 out of 335 tick samples were amplified target bands of 400 bp, and the overall positive rate was 0.6%. The BLAST comparison analysis results showed that the 18S rRNA sequence amplified from one sample had a 99.26% similarity with the sequences of B. microti from the United States (MK609547), Thailand (MG199181), and China (KU204794) in GenBank. The 18S rRNA sequence amplified from another sample shares 100% similarity with the sequences of B. gibsoni from the United States (MH620203), India (MN161136), and China (KP666166) in GenBank. The phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that the B. microti positive sample was clustered on the same branch with B. microti from Russia (KX987864), China (KU204794) and Thailand (MG199179), showing a high homology. The B. gibsoni-positive samples were clustered on the same branch with B. gibsoni from China (FJ769386), USA (MH620203) and India (KF606884), showing a close relation. Conclusion The infections of B. microti and B. gibsoni were detected in ticks parasitized on domestic animals in Xinyang area of Henan Province, which may render risk of disease transmission to humans and domestic animals.

Key words: Tick, Babesia, Domestic animals, Molecular epidemiology, Xinyang, Henan Province

CLC Number:

R531.5

JI Penghui, JIANG Tiantian, HE Zhiquan, WANG Dan, YUE Sining, LI Suhua, YANG Chengyun, WANG Hao, ZHANG Hongwei, ZHOU Ruimin. Molecular epidemiological investigation of Babesia infection in ticks parasitized on domestic animals in Xinyang, Henan Province[J]. CHINESE JOURNAL OF PARASITOLOGY AND PARASITIC DISEASES, 2023, 41(5): 567-572.

Figures/Tables 3

References 37

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采样点 Site of collection	宿主 Host	蜱虫数量/只 No. tick
采样点 Site of collection	宿主 Host	长角血蜱 H. longicornis	微小扇头蜱 R. microplus	具环扇头蜱 R. annulatus	褐黄血蜱 H. flava	刻点血蜱 H. punctata	合计 Total
光山县横大路村 Hengdalu Village, Guangshan County	羊 Goat	8	0	0	0	8	16
光山县大刘村 Daliu Village, Guangshan County	羊、犬 Goat、Dog	20	0	0	1	30	51
商城县徐堰村 Xuyan Village, Shangcheng County	羊 Goat	18	1	0	0	5	24
商城县石关口村 Shiguankou Village, Shangcheng County	黄牛 Yellow cattle	3	207	34	0	0	244
合计 Total		49	208	34	1	43	335