Molecular Investigation of Ovine and Caprine Anaplasmosis in
South-eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey
Ceylan Ceylan* and Özlem Derinbay
Ekici
1Selcuk
University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Veterinary
Parasitology, Konya, Turkey
*Corresponding author:
ceylanilhan@selcuk.edu.tr
Abstract
Ovine and caprine anaplasmosis is an endemic
tick-borne disease in Europe, the Middle East and some African and Asian
countries, including Turkey. This study was conducted to determine the
prevalence of Anaplasma ovis and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in
sheep and goats in the Southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey. For each animal
group, 384 individuals were included in the study. Microscopy and Rt-PCR were
used to determine the prevalence of anaplasmosis in sheep and goats. Microscopic
examination revealed 21.88% (n:84) and 39.58% (n:152) Anaplasma sp.
positivity in sheep and goats, respectively. The study revealed that the
molecular prevalence values were higher than the microscopic prevalence values
for each microorganism. The molecular
prevalence of A. ovis was 89.32% (n:343) in sheep and 78.91% (n:303) in
goats and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). On the other
hand, A. phagocytophilum was detected at 42.97% (n:165) in sheep and
15.89% (n:61) in goats. This is the first study in Turkey in which the Rt-PCR
method was used for the detection of Anaplasma species in small
ruminants. This study demonstrated that Rt-PCR provides more accurate and
specific results than microscopic examination. The present study is expected to
have contributed in determining the prevalence of Anaplasma species, one
of the tick-borne pathogens, in Turkey and provide data on future control
strategies for small ruminant anaplasmosis.
To Cite This Article:
Ceylan C and Ekici ÖD, 2023.
Molecular investigation of ovine and
caprine anaplasmosis in south-eastern anatolia region of turkey.
Pak Vet J, 43(1): 139-145.
http://dx.doi.org/10.29261/pakvetj/2022.070