Exp Appl Acarol. 2017 Jun 7. doi: 10.1007/s10493-017-0146-6. [Epub ahead of print]
- 1
- Department of Veterinary Services, Kenya Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 40241-00100, Nairobi, Kenya. dndeereh@kws.go.ke.
- 2
- Department
of Public Health, Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary
Medicine, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 29053-00625, Nairobi, Kenya.
- 3
- Department of Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 29053-00625, Nairobi, Kenya.
- 4
- Department of Veterinary Services, Kenya Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 40241-00100, Nairobi, Kenya.
- 5
- Institute
of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies (IEU), University of
Zürich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
- 6
- CIBIO/InBIO
(Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos),
Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrario De Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão,
Portugal. michaeljowers@hotmail.com.
- 7
- National
Institute of Ecology, 1210, Geumgang-ro, Maseo-myeon, Seocheon-gun,
Chungcheongnam-do, 33657, Korea. michaeljowers@hotmail.com.
Abstract
Coxiella burnetii is the causative agent of Q fever, a zoonotic disease of public health importance. The role of wildlife
and their ticks in the epidemiology of C. burnetii in Kenya is unknown.
This study analysed the occurrence and prevalence of the pathogen in wildlife and their ticks at two unique wildlife-livestock
interfaces of Laikipia and Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) with the
aim to determine the potential risk of transmission to livestock and
humans. Blood from 79 and 73 animals
in Laikipia and MMNR, respectively, and 756 and 95 ixodid ticks in each
of the areas, respectively, was analysed. Ticks were pooled before
analyses into 137 and 29 samples in Laikipia and MMNR, respectively, of
one to eight non-engorged ticks according to species and animal host.
Real-time PCR amplifying the repetitive insertion element IS1111a of the
transposase gene was used to detect C. burnetii DNA. Although none of
the animals and
ticks from MMNR tested positive, ticks from Laikipia had an overall
pooled prevalence of 2.92% resulting in a maximum-likelihood estimate of
prevalence of 0.54%, 95% CI 0.17-1.24. Ticks positive for C. burnetii
DNA belonged to the genus Rhipicephalus at a pooled prevalence of 2.96%
(maximum-likelihood estimate of prevalence of 0.54%, 95% CI 0.17-1.26).
These ticks were Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, R. pulchellus and R.
evertsi at pooled prevalence of 3.77, 3.03 and 2.04%, respectively. The
presence of C. burnetii in ticks suggests circulation of the pathogen in
Laikipia and demonstrates they may play a potential role in the
epidemiology of Q fever in this ecosystem. The findings warrant further
studies to understand the presence of C. burnetii in domestic animals and their ticks within both study areas.
KEYWORDS:
Coxiella burnetii; Kenya; Q fever; Wildlife
