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Molecular detection of pathogens in ticks and fleas collected from companion dogs and cats in East and Southeast Asia

Nguyen VL 1 , Colella V 1 , Greco G 1 , Fang F 2 , Nurcahyo W 3 , Hadi UK 4 Show all authors , Venturina V 5 , Tong KBY 6 , Tsai YL 7 , Taweethavonsawat P 8 , Tiwananthagorn S 9 , Tangtrongsup S 9 , Le TQ 10 , Bui KL 11 , Do T 12 , Watanabe M 13 , Rani PAMA 13 , Dantas-Torres F 1 , Halos L 14 , Beugnet F 14 , Otranto D 15

Affiliations 

  • 1 Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy
  • 2 School of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
  • 3 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakata, Indonesia
  • 4 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, IPB University, Bogor, Indonesia
  • 5 College of Veterinary Science & Medicine, Central Luzon State University, Nueva Ecija, Philippines
  • 6 Animal & Avian Veterinary Clinic, Singapore, Singapore
  • 7 Department of Veterinary Medicine, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, Taiwan
  • 8 Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chualalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
  • 9 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
  • 10 Faculty of Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine, Nong Lam University, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
  • 11 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 12 Biodiversity Conservation and Tropical Disease Research Institute, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 13 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia
  • 14 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health, Lyon, France
  • 15 Dipartimento di Medicina Veterinaria, Università degli Studi di Bari, Bari, Italy. domenico.otranto@uniba.it
Parasit Vectors, 2020 Aug 15;13(1):420.
PMID: 32799914 DOI: 10.1186/s13071-020-04288-8

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Ticks and fleas are considered amongst the most important arthropod vectors of medical and veterinary concern due to their ability to transmit pathogens to a range of animal species including dogs, cats and humans. By sharing a common environment with humans, companion animal-associated parasitic arthropods may potentially transmit zoonotic vector-borne pathogens (VBPs). This study aimed to molecularly detect pathogens from ticks and fleas from companion dogs and cats in East and Southeast Asia.

METHODS: A total of 392 ticks and 248 fleas were collected from 401 infested animals (i.e. 271 dogs and 130 cats) from China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam, and molecularly screened for the presence of pathogens. Ticks were tested for Rickettsia spp., Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp. while fleas were screened for the presence of Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp.

RESULT: Of the 392 ticks tested, 37 (9.4%) scored positive for at least one pathogen with Hepatozoon canis being the most prevalent (5.4%), followed by Ehrlichia canis (1.8%), Babesia vogeli (1%), Anaplasma platys (0.8%) and Rickettsia spp. (1%) [including Rickettsia sp. (0.5%), Rickettsia asembonensis (0.3%) and Rickettsia felis (0.3%)]. Out of 248 fleas tested, 106 (42.7%) were harboring at least one pathogen with R. felis being the most common (19.4%), followed by Bartonella spp. (16.5%), Rickettsia asembonensis (10.9%) and "Candidatus Rickettsia senegalensis" (0.4%). Furthermore, 35 Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks were subjected to phylogenetic analysis, of which 34 ticks belonged to the tropical and only one belonged to the temperate lineage (Rh. sanguineus (sensu stricto)).

CONCLUSION: Our data reveals the circulation of different VBPs in ticks and fleas of dogs and cats from Asia, including zoonotic agents, which may represent a potential risk to animal and human health.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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