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Prevalence of Cowdria ruminantium infection in Amblyomma hebraeum ticks from heartwater-endemic areas of Zimbabwe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 1999

T. F. PETER ,
B. D. PERRY ,
C. J. O'CALLAGHAN ,
G. F. MEDLEY ,
G. MLAMBO ,
A. F. BARBET  and
S. M. MAHAN
T. F. PETER
Affiliation:
University of Florida/USAID/SADC Heartwater Research Project, Veterinary Research Laboratory, P.O. Box CY 551, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe
B. D. PERRY
Affiliation:
International Livestock Research Institute, P.O. Box 30709, Nairobi, Kenya
C. J. O'CALLAGHAN
Affiliation:
Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
G. F. MEDLEY
Affiliation:
Ecology and Epidemiology Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK
G. MLAMBO
Affiliation:
University of Florida/USAID/SADC Heartwater Research Project, Veterinary Research Laboratory, P.O. Box CY 551, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe
A. F. BARBET
Affiliation:
Department of Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Box 110880, Gainesville, Florida 32611–0880, USA
S. M. MAHAN
Affiliation:
University of Florida/USAID/SADC Heartwater Research Project, Veterinary Research Laboratory, P.O. Box CY 551, Causeway, Harare, Zimbabwe
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Abstract

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Analysis of the transmission dynamics of Cowdria ruminantium, the tick-borne rickettsial agent of heartwater in ruminants, requires accurate measures of infection in vector populations. To obtain these, Amblyomma hebraeum ticks were collected at two heartwater-endemic locations in the lowveld and highveld regions of Zimbabwe and assessed for C. ruminantium infection with specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA probe detection assays. At the lowveld site, 11·2% (50/446) of adult ticks and 8·5% (23/271) of nymphs carried C. ruminantium, as detected by PCR. At the highveld site, the prevalence of infection in adult ticks was 10·2% (40/392). DNA probe analysis revealed that most infections at both sites were of low intensity; only 9% and 23% of all nymph and adult tick infections, respectively, were greater than 70000 organisms, the detection limit of the DNA probe. However, the majority (70%) of probe- detectable adult tick infections were high, between 107 and 109 organisms/tick, while those within nymphs were lower, between 105 and 106 organisms/tick.

Type
Research Article
Information
Epidemiology & Infection , Volume 123 , Issue 2 , October 1999 , pp. 309 - 316
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press