title: Molecular diagnosis of the tick-borne pathogen Anaplasma marginale in cattle blood samples from Nigeria using qPCR.
abstract: Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) are some of the most important animal health and management problems in Africa, including Nigeria. This study aims to determine the prevalence of an important TBD, anaplasmosis, in a North-central region of Nigeria. Blood samples were collected from cattle and stored on Whatman FTA®cards. Information on village, age and sex associated with each cattle was also recorded. The packed red blood cell volume (PCV) for each blood sample was determined. After DNA extraction, pathogen presence was evaluated by TaqMan®based qPCR of which 75.9 % of the cattle tested positive for Anaplasma marginale. Statistical analysis revealed that the presence of A. marginale infection differed significantly between cattle age groups. However, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of this pathogen between the sexes or among cattle grouped by PCV level. Finally, using a highly sensitive molecular method our pioneer study contributes to the improvement of the current knowledge regarding tick-borne pathogens that seriously affect animal health in specific areas of Nigeria.
authors: School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK.
authors: Nusirat
authors: N
authors: Elelu
authors: Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Rua da Junqueira 100, 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal. joana.ferrolho@ihmt.unl.pt.
authors: Joana
authors: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1300-4487
authors: J
authors: Ferrolho
authors: Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Rua da Junqueira 100, 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors: Joana
authors: J
authors: Couto
authors: Global Health and Tropical Medicine, Instituto de Higiene e Medicina Tropical, Rua da Junqueira 100, 1349-008, Lisbon, Portugal.
authors: Ana
authors: A
authors: Domingos
authors: School of Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, Bristol, BS40 5DU, UK.
authors: Mark C
authors: MC
authors: Eisler
mesh_terms: D042322:Anaplasma marginale / Q000502:physiology*; D000712:Anaplasmosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D009549:Nigeria / Q000453:epidemiology; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Anaplasma marginale; Kwara; Nigeria; Tick-borne diseases; Tick-borne pathogens; qPCR