Detection of Babesia caballi, Theileria mutans and Th. velifera in ixodid ticks collected from cattle in Guinea in 2017-2018.

Intraerythrocytic protozoan parasites from the genera Babesia and Theileria may infect a wide range of animals and humans. The purpose of this study was to detect the 18S ribosomal RNA gene of Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. in ticks collected from household cows in the Republic of Guinea from 2017 to 2018 by PCR and then genotype the gene fragments by sequencing. A total of 907 ticks from 319 cows were collected in seven prefectures of Guinea (Boke, Faranah, Kankan, Kindia, Labe, Mamou and N'Zerekore). The following tick species on cattle were identified: Amblyomma variegatum (44.2%), Rhipicephalus decoloratus (34.7%), Rh. annulatus (10.3%), Rh. geigyi (7.3%) Hyalomma truncatum (2.4%), Rh. senegalensis (0.8%) and Haemaphysalis leachi (0.6%). Genetic markers for piroplasms were found in Am. variegatum, Rh. decoloratus, Rh. annulatus, and Rh. geigyi ticks, and the total infection rate for these ticks was 4.2%. The highest infection rate was found in Rh. annulatus ticks (10.9%). The piroplasms were genotyped as Babesia caballi, Theileria mutans and Theileria velifera by phylogenetic analysis of the 1150 bp 18S ribosomal RNA gene fragments. These pathogens were discovered in practically all studied prefectures in Guinea except for Mamou Prefecture. We propose that these ixodid ticks might play a major role in the transmission of piroplasm infections in domestic animals in Guinea.

Rhipicephalus microplus and its vector-borne haemoparasites in Guinea: further species expansion in West Africa.

Rhipicephalus microplus is an ixodid tick with a pantropical distribution that represents a serious threat to livestock. West Africa was free of this tick until 2007, when its introduction into Benin was reported. Shortly thereafter, further invasion of this tick species into other West African countries was identified. In this paper, we describe the first detection of R. microplus in Guinea and list the vector-borne haemoparasites that were detected in the invading and indigenous Boophilus species. In 2018, we conducted a small-scale survey of ticks infesting cattle in three administrative regions of Guinea: N`Zerekore, Faranah, and Kankan. The tick species were identified by examining their morphological characteristics and by sequencing their COI gene and ITS-2 gene fragments. R. microplus was found in each studied region. In the ticks, we found the DNA of Babesia bigemina, Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma platys, and Ehrlichia sp. The results of this study indicate that R. microplus was introduced into Guinea in association with cows from Mali and/or the Ivory Coast.