| Ticks and vector-borne pathogens of wild carnivores from different regions of Iran |
| Paper ID : 1179-IPCA4 (R1) |
| Authors |
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Zahra Bahiraei *1, Alireza Sazmand1, Leili Moradi1, Farzad Nemati1, Pardis Almasi1, Zahra Janjani1, Elham Hosseinpour1, Kimia Beus1, Soheil Yari1, Sakineh Azami1, Marzieh Rezaee-Hamid1, Pouria Paymard2, Javad Khedri3, Erfan Moeinifard4, Mohammad Babaei2, Ali Goudarztalejerdi5, Domenico Otranto6 1Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University 6517658978 Hamedan, IRAN 2Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, 6517658978 Hamedan, Iran 3Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University, Mashhad, Iran 4Royal Veterinary Clinic, Hamedan, Iran 5Department of pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University 6517658978 Hamedan, Iran 6Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, 70010 Bari, Italy |
| Abstract |
| There is paucity of information about ticks and tick-borne pathogens in wild carnivores in Iran. The aim of this study was to examine ticks and tissues of wild canids, felids and mustelids in different geographical regions of the country. During December 2016 to May 2022, ixodid ticks, blood, spleen and milk specimens were collected from 38 road killed wild carnivores i.e., 19 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), 15 golden jackals (Canis aureus), one wild cat (Felis chaus), one marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna), one beech marten (Martes foina), and one European badger (Meles meles). The animals were examined in the west (Hamedan, Kermanshah, Lorestan) and southeast (Kerman and Sistan-and-Balouchestan) of Iran. Totally 120 ticks were identified morphologically as Rhipicephalus turanicus (n=58), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (n=15), Haemaphysalis erinacei (n=31), Hyalomma anatolicum (n=1), Ixodes canisuga (n=13), in addition to one Rhipicephalus spp. larvae and an unidentified larva. Genomic DNA was extracted from all of the collected specimens and tested for Hepatozoon, Babesia, filaroid nematodes, Trypanosoma, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, haemotropic Mycoplasma and Bartonella by conventional PCR. Preliminary results show the presence of DNA of all tested pathogens except filarial nematodes in ticks and/or tissues of all six carnivore species. Infection of wild carnivores and their ticks with vector-borne pathogens some of which being zoonotic agents shows that wildlife populations in the country have an underestimated role in the epidemiology of animals and possibly human infections. |
| Keywords |
| Anaplasma, Babesia, Ehrlichia, Hepatozoon, One-health, Trypanosoma, Vector-borne pathogens, Wildlife |
| Status: Abstract Accepted (Oral Presentation) |