Anaplasma and Theileria Pathogens in Cattle of Lambwe Valley, Kenya: A Case for Pro-Active Surveillance in the Wildlife–Livestock Interface

Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are major constraints to livestock production and a threat to public health in Africa. This cross-sectional study investigated the risk of infection with TBPs in cattle of Lambwe Valley, Kenya. Blood samples of 680 zebu cattle from 95 herds in six geospatial clusters with...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Microorganisms (Basel) 2020-11, Vol.8 (11), p.1830
Main Authors: Okal, Michael N., Odhiambo, Brenda Kisia, Otieno, Peter, Bargul, Joel L., Masiga, Daniel, Villinger, Jandouwe, Kalayou, Shewit
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anaplasma
Arachnids
Cattle
Clusters
Confidence intervals
Epidemiology
Farmers
Health risks
Infectious diseases
Interfaces
Kenya
Livestock
Livestock production
National parks
Parasitic diseases
Pathogens
Protozoa
Public health
Sample size
Strategic management
Surveillance
Theileria
tick-borne pathogens
Trends
Valleys
Wildlife
Wildlife conservation
wildlife–livestock interface
zebu cattle
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Summary:Tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) are major constraints to livestock production and a threat to public health in Africa. This cross-sectional study investigated the risk of infection with TBPs in cattle of Lambwe Valley, Kenya. Blood samples of 680 zebu cattle from 95 herds in six geospatial clusters within 5 km of Ruma National Park were screened for bacterial and protozoan TBPs by high-resolution melting analysis and sequencing of PCR products. We detected Anaplasma bovis (17.4%), Anaplasma platys (16.9%), Anaplasma marginale (0.6%), Theileria velifera (40%), and Theileria mutans (25.7%), as well as an Anaplasma sp. (11.6%) that matched recently reported Anaplasma sp. sequences from Ethiopia. Babesia, Rickettsia, and Ehrlichia spp. were not detected. The animal and herd-level prevalences for TBPs were 78.5% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 75.3, 81.5) and 95.8% (95% CI: 91.8, 99.8), respectively. About 31.6% of cattle were co-infected with 13 combinations of TBPs. The prevalence of TBPs differed between clusters and age, but the risk of infection was not associated with sex, herd size, or the distance of homesteads from Ruma. This study adds insight into the epidemiology of TBPs around Ruma and highlights the need for proactive surveillance of TBPs in livestock–wildlife interfaces.
ISSN:2076-2607
2076-2607
DOI:10.3390/microorganisms8111830