Prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Rickettsia spp. and Babesia spp. in cattle serum and questing ticks from Belgium.
Cattle
Pathogen
Province
Seroprevalence
Tick-borne diseases
Zoonotic
Journal
Ticks and tick-borne diseases
ISSN: 1877-9603
Titre abrégé: Ticks Tick Borne Dis
Pays: Netherlands
ID NLM: 101522599
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
07 2023
07 2023
Historique:
received:
12
10
2022
revised:
26
01
2023
accepted:
01
02
2023
medline:
19
5
2023
pubmed:
13
4
2023
entrez:
12
4
2023
Statut:
ppublish
Résumé
Anaplasmosis, borreliosis, rickettsiosis and babesiosis are tick-borne diseases of medical, veterinary and economic importance. In Belgium, little is known on the prevalence of these diseases in animals and previous screenings relate only to targeted geographic regions, clinical cases or a limited number of tested samples. We therefore performed the first nationwide seroprevalence study of Anaplasma spp., A. phagocytophilum, Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp. and Babesia spp. in Belgian cattle. We also screened questing ticks for the aforementioned pathogens. ELISAs and IFATs were performed on a representative sample set of cattle sera stratified proportionally to the number of cattle herds per province. Questing ticks were collected in areas where the highest prevalence for the forenamed pathogens in cattle serum were observed. Ticks were analyzed by quantitative PCR for A. phagocytophilum (n = 783), B. burgdorferi sensu lato (n = 783) and Rickettsia spp. (n = 715) and by PCR for Babesia spp. (n = 358). The ELISA screening for antibodies to Anaplasma spp. and Borrelia spp. in cattle sera showed an overall seroprevalence of 15.6% (53/339) and 12.9% (52/402), respectively. The IFAT screening for antibodies against A. phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp. and Babesia spp. resulted in an overall seroprevalence of 34.2% (116/339), 31.2% (99/317) and 3.4% (14/412), respectively. At the provincial level, the provinces of Liege and Walloon Brabant harboured the highest seroprevalence of Anaplasma spp. (44.4% and 42.7% respectively) and A. phagocytophilum (55.6% and 71.4%). East Flanders and Luxembourg exhibited the highest seroprevalence of Borrelia spp. (32.4%) and Rickettsia spp. (54.8%) respectively. The province of Antwerp showed the highest seroprevalence of Babesia spp. (11%). The screening of field-collected ticks resulted in a prevalence of 13.8% for B. burgdorferi s.l., with B. afzelii and B. garinii being the most common genospecies (65.7% and 17.1%, respectively). Rickettsia spp. was detected in 7.1% of the tested ticks and the only identified species was R. helvetica. A low prevalence was found for A. phagocytophilum (0.5%) and no Babesia positive tick was detected. The seroprevalence data in cattle indicate hot spots for tick-borne pathogens in specific provinces and highlights the importance of veterinary surveillance in anticipating the emergence of diseases among humans. The detection of all pathogens, with the exception of Babesia spp. in questing ticks, underlines the need of raising awareness among public and professionals on other tick-borne diseases along with lyme borreliosis.
Sections du résumé
BACKGROUND
Anaplasmosis, borreliosis, rickettsiosis and babesiosis are tick-borne diseases of medical, veterinary and economic importance. In Belgium, little is known on the prevalence of these diseases in animals and previous screenings relate only to targeted geographic regions, clinical cases or a limited number of tested samples. We therefore performed the first nationwide seroprevalence study of Anaplasma spp., A. phagocytophilum, Borrelia spp., Rickettsia spp. and Babesia spp. in Belgian cattle. We also screened questing ticks for the aforementioned pathogens.
METHODS
ELISAs and IFATs were performed on a representative sample set of cattle sera stratified proportionally to the number of cattle herds per province. Questing ticks were collected in areas where the highest prevalence for the forenamed pathogens in cattle serum were observed. Ticks were analyzed by quantitative PCR for A. phagocytophilum (n = 783), B. burgdorferi sensu lato (n = 783) and Rickettsia spp. (n = 715) and by PCR for Babesia spp. (n = 358).
RESULTS
The ELISA screening for antibodies to Anaplasma spp. and Borrelia spp. in cattle sera showed an overall seroprevalence of 15.6% (53/339) and 12.9% (52/402), respectively. The IFAT screening for antibodies against A. phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp. and Babesia spp. resulted in an overall seroprevalence of 34.2% (116/339), 31.2% (99/317) and 3.4% (14/412), respectively. At the provincial level, the provinces of Liege and Walloon Brabant harboured the highest seroprevalence of Anaplasma spp. (44.4% and 42.7% respectively) and A. phagocytophilum (55.6% and 71.4%). East Flanders and Luxembourg exhibited the highest seroprevalence of Borrelia spp. (32.4%) and Rickettsia spp. (54.8%) respectively. The province of Antwerp showed the highest seroprevalence of Babesia spp. (11%). The screening of field-collected ticks resulted in a prevalence of 13.8% for B. burgdorferi s.l., with B. afzelii and B. garinii being the most common genospecies (65.7% and 17.1%, respectively). Rickettsia spp. was detected in 7.1% of the tested ticks and the only identified species was R. helvetica. A low prevalence was found for A. phagocytophilum (0.5%) and no Babesia positive tick was detected.
CONCLUSIONS
The seroprevalence data in cattle indicate hot spots for tick-borne pathogens in specific provinces and highlights the importance of veterinary surveillance in anticipating the emergence of diseases among humans. The detection of all pathogens, with the exception of Babesia spp. in questing ticks, underlines the need of raising awareness among public and professionals on other tick-borne diseases along with lyme borreliosis.
Identifiants
pubmed: 37044019
pii: S1877-959X(23)00028-6
doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2023.102146
pii:
doi:
Types de publication
Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Pagination
102146Informations de copyright
Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier GmbH.. All rights reserved.
Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts
Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests.