scholarly journals Amblyomma hebraeum is the predominant tick species on goats in the Mnisi Community Area of Mpumalanga Province South Africa and is co-infected with Ehrlichia ruminantium and Rickettsia africae

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frans Jongejan ◽  
Laura Berger ◽  
Suzanne Busser ◽  
Iris Deetman ◽  
Manon Jochems ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Tick Bite ◽  
Amblyomma Hebraeum ◽  
Ehrlichia Ruminantium ◽  
Mpumalanga Province ◽  
Rickettsia Africae ◽  
Cattle Ticks ◽  
Community Area ◽  
Tick Bite Fever

Abstract Background: In sub-Saharan Africa, ticks of the genus Amblyomma are vectors of heartwater disease in domestic ruminants, caused by the rickettsial pathogen Ehrlichia ruminantium. Immature stages of these ticks often bite humans, whereby they act as vectors of tick-bite fever caused by Rickettsia africae. Moreover, Amblyomma ticks cause considerable damage to livestock due to their feeding behaviour. In South Africa, we studied the relative abundance of Amblyomma hebraeum ticks on goats of emerging farmers in Mpumalanga Province. A selected number of A. hebraeum nymphs and adult ticks was tested for co-infection with E. ruminantium and R. africae. Methods: A total of 630 indigenous goats, belonging to farmers in the Mnisi Community area, were examined for ticks in 2013 and 2014. All ticks were identified, and a selected number was tested by PCR with reverse line blot hybridisation (RLB).Results: In total, 13,129 ticks were collected from goats distributed over 17 different households. Amblyomma hebraeum was the predominant species collected, followed by Rhipicephalus microplus. Small numbers of Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus simus and Rhipicephalus zambeziensis were also identified. A. hebraeum was present throughout the year, with peak activity of adults in summer (November) and nymphs in winter (July). The ratio between adults and nymphs ranged from 1:2.7 in summer to 1:55.1 in winter. The mean prevalence of infection for E. ruminantium by PCR/RLB in adult ticks was 17.4% (31/178), whereas 15.7% (28/178) were infected with R. africae. In nymphs, 28.4% were infected with E. ruminantium and 38.8% carried R. africae infection. Co-infections of E. ruminantium and R. africae in adult and nymphal ticks were 3.9% (7/178) and 10% (14.9), respectively. Lameness of goats due to predilection of ticks for the interdigital space of their feet was observed in 89% of the households.Conclusions: Goats act as important alternative hosts for cattle ticks, which underscored the necessity to include goats in tick control programs. It is suggested to use acaricide-impregnated leg-bands as a sustainable method to kill ticks and prevent lameness in goats. The continuous challenge of goats by considerable numbers of E. ruminantium- infected ticks is a major obstacle for upgrading the indigenous goat breeds. Humans appear to be at risk to contract tick-bite fever in this area.

scholarly journals Amblyomma hebraeum is the predominant tick species on goats in the Mnisi Community Area of Mpumalanga Province South Africa and is co-infected with Ehrlichia ruminantium and Rickettsia africae

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frans Jongejan ◽  
Laura Berger ◽  
Suzanne Busser ◽  
Iris Deetman ◽  
Manon Jochems ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Tick Species ◽  
Amblyomma Hebraeum ◽  
Ehrlichia Ruminantium ◽  
Mpumalanga Province ◽  
Rickettsia Africae ◽  
Community Area

Abstract The authors have withdrawn this preprint from Research Square

scholarly journals Kinetics of Antibody Responses in Rickettsia africae and Rickettsia conorii Infections

2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 324-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Edouard Fournier ◽  
Mogens Jensenius ◽  
Herman Laferl ◽  
Sirka Vene ◽  
Didier Raoult
Keyword(s):  
Spotted Fever ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Tick Bite ◽  
Rickettsia Conorii ◽  
Mediterranean Spotted Fever ◽  
Doxycycline Treatment ◽  
Rickettsia Africae ◽  
Mediterranean Countries ◽  
African Tick Bite Fever ◽  
Tick Bite Fever

ABSTRACT African tick-bite fever, caused by Rickettsia africae, is the most common tick-borne rickettsiosis in sub-Saharan Africa. Mediterranean spotted fever due to Rickettsia conorii also occurs in the region but is more prevalent in Mediterranean countries. Using microimmunofluorescence, we compared the development of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgM titers in 48 patients with African tick-bite fever and 48 patients with Mediterranean spotted fever. Doxycycline treatment within 7 days from the onset of disease significantly prevented the development of antibodies to R. africae. In patients with African tick-bite fever, the median times to seroconversion with IgG and IgM were 28 and 25 days, respectively, after the onset of symptoms. These were significantly longer by a median of 6 days for IgG and 9 days for IgM than the times for seroconversion in patients with Mediterranean spotted fever (P < 10−2). We recommend that sera collected 4 weeks after the onset of signs of patients with suspected African tick-bite fever should be used for the definitive serological diagnosis of R. africae infections.

scholarly journals Rickettsia africae an Agent of African Tick Bite Fever in Ticks Collected from Domestic Animals in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Pathogens ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 631
Author(s):  
Benson Chuks Iweriebor ◽  
Ayabulela Nqoro ◽  
Chikwelu Larry Obi
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Spotted Fever ◽  
Domestic Animals ◽  
Tick Bite ◽  
Spotted Fever Group ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiae ◽  
Rickettsia Africae ◽  
African Tick Bite Fever ◽  
Tick Bite Fever

Background: Ticks transmit a plethora of pathogens of zoonotic implications. Their distribution, diversity and the pathogens they transmit differ from one ecological location to another. Rickettsia africae is the agent of African tick bite fever found in South Africa, a zoonotic infection that is frequently reported among travelers who have visited many sub-Saharan African countries where the pathogen is prevalent. Methods: Ticks were collected from domestic animals in Raymond Nkandla Municipality, Eastern Cape, South Africa. The ticks were identified morphologically prior to DNA extraction followed by molecular identification of randomly selected ticks from the morphologically delineated groups. To assess for the presence of tick-borne pathogens belonging to Rickettsia spp. by PCR (polymerase chain reaction), we used specific primer pairs targeting the gltA, ompA and ompB genes. The selected amplified ticks, all positive ompB and forty three ompA amplicons were sequenced in a commercial sequencing facility. The obtained nucleotide sequences were edited and subjected to BLASTn for homology search and phylogenetic analyses were performed with MEGA 7 Version for genetic relationships with curated reference sequences in GenBank. Results: A total of 953 ticks collected in the study were delineated into three genera consisting of Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus and Hyalomma in decreasing order of abundance. The presence of rickettsial DNA was detected in 60/953 (6.3%) from the three genera of ticks screened. Genetic analyses of the DNA sequences obtained showed that they have phylogenetic relationship to members of the spotted fever group rickettsiae with R. africae, being the predominant SFGR (spotted fever group rickettsiae) detected in the screened ticks. Conclusion: This report shows that R. africae is the predominant spotted fever group rickettsiae in ticks collected from domestic animals in the study area and the human health impacts are not known.

scholarly journals Knowledge, attitudes and practices on African tick bite fever of rural livestock communities living in a livestock-wildlife interface area in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tandiwe Katswara ◽  
Samson Mukaratirwa
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Tick Bite ◽  
Eastern Cape Province ◽  
Eastern Cape ◽  
Tick Bites ◽  
Attitudes And Practices ◽  
Rickettsia Africae ◽  
African Tick Bite Fever ◽  
Tick Bite Fever ◽  
Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Abstract Background African tick bite fever (ATBF) caused by Rickettsia africae and transmitted by Amblyomma spp. ticks is one of the zoonotic tick-borne fevers from the spotted fever group (SFG) of rickettsiae, which is an emerging global health concern. There is paucity of information regarding the occurrence and awareness of the disease in endemic rural livestock farming communities living in livestock-wildlife interface areas in South Africa. Methods The purpose of the study was to assess the level of knowledge, attitudes and practices on ticks and ATBF infection from a community living in livestock-wildlife interface areas in South Africa. A focus group discussion (FGD) was carried out followed by verbal administration of a standardized semi-structured questionnaire a month later to 38 rural livestock farmers (23 from Caquba area and 15 from Lucingweni area where A. hebraeum was absent). An FGD was conducted in Caquba (situated at the livestock-wildlife interface where Amblyomma hebraeum was prevalent on cattle and infected with Rickettsia africae) in the O.R. Tambo district of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Results Results from the FGD and questionnaire survey showed that participants from the two rural communities were not aware of ATBF and were not aware that ticks are vectors of the disease. Respondents from Caquba reported of having frequent exposure to tick bites (91.3%, 21/23) specifically from the anthropophilic A. hebrauem which they were able to identify as Qwelagqibe in IsiXhosa (their vernacular). Thirteen out of 15 (86.7%) of respondents from Lucingweni reported that they had never been bitten by ticks, which corresponded with the absence of A. hebraeum from their locality as evidenced from results of a concurrent study on prevalence of ticks on livestock in the area. Both communities confirmed to being “very concerned” of tick bites and we presume this was more related to the localized wounds from the bites than to the diseases transmitted by the ticks. Conclusions We recommend future studies encompassing seroprevalence of ATBF in Caquba and other communities at risk in South Africa including establishing surveillance systems to monitor the seasonal infection rates in ticks, cattle and humans.

scholarly journals African Tick Bite Fever in Elderly Patients: 8 Cases in French Tourists Returning from South Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. e28-e35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathalie Roch ◽  
Olivier Epaulard ◽  
Isabelle Pelloux ◽  
Patricia Pavese ◽  
Jean‐Paul Brion ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Elderly Patients ◽  
Tick Bite ◽  
African Tick Bite Fever ◽  
Tick Bite Fever

scholarly journals Rickettsia africae sp. nov., the Etiological Agent of African Tick Bite Fever

1996 ◽  
Vol 46 (2) ◽  
pp. 611-614 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. KELLY ◽  
L. BEATI ◽  
P. R. MASON ◽  
L. A. MATTHEWMAN ◽  
V. ROUX ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Etiological Agent ◽  
Tick Bite ◽  
Rickettsia Africae ◽  
African Tick Bite Fever ◽  
Tick Bite Fever

scholarly journals Unusual Location of an Inoculation Lesion in a Traveler with African Tick‐Bite Fever Returning from South Africa

2009 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. 439-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Henri Consigny ◽  
Ina Schuett ◽  
Sylvie Fraitag ◽  
Jean‐Marc Rolain ◽  
Pierre Buffet
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Tick Bite ◽  
Unusual Location ◽  
African Tick Bite Fever ◽  
Tick Bite Fever

scholarly journals African Tick-bite Fever in a Woman who Travelled to Republic of South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-136
Author(s):  
Yoshinori TAKAHASHI ◽  
Ryosuke OSAWA ◽  
Masakatsu TAIRA ◽  
Shuji ANDO ◽  
Naoto HOSOKAWA
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Tick Bite ◽  
African Tick Bite Fever ◽  
Tick Bite Fever
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document