Abstract

Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis and Theileria annulata infections significantly affect the development and improvement of animal husbandry in Africa. In Côte d’Ivoire, molecular studies for the diagnosis of these hemoparasites are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and the distribution of A. marginale, B. bovis and T. annulata and to evaluate the risk of coinfection in cattle in Côte d’Ivoire. A subsample of 180 dried blood spots was randomly selected for analysis with conventional PCR, from a total of 895 in six livestock area. Amplification of the MaR1bB2, Bovar2A and cytochrome b1 genes for the detection of A. marginale, B. bovis and T. annulata were performed. Pearson’s Chi-squared test, Fisher exact test and the confident intervals were also performed. The overall prevalence of A. marginale, B. bovis and T. annulata was 68.9, 57.8 and 10%, respectively. A. marginale was determined to be the most infesting species, especially in the central area where it had the highest prevalence (90%). For B. bovis, the southern and central zones were the most infected with this parasite (70%). Out of 180 examined cattle, 152 (84.4) were infected with one or multiple haemoparasites investigated. Mixed infections were observed in 81/180 (45%) of blood samples and the co-infections of A. marginale and B. bovis were more frequent (63/180; 35%). The monoinfection of A. marginale was significantly higher (49/180; 27.2%) and no monoinfections of T. annulata were detected. The results of this study showed a high prevalence and wide distribution of A. marginale and B. bovis, in all six livestock area, in Côte d’Ivoire. These pathogens pose a risk to animal and human health (especially B. bovis) and food safety.

Key words: Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis, Theileria annulata, prevalence, co-infection, Côte d’Ivoire.