Seth Offei Addo, Stacy Amoah, Nancy Martekai Unicorn, Emmanuella Tiwaa Kyeremateng, Genevieve Desewu, Patrick Kwasi Obuam, Richard Odoi-Teye Malm, Emmanuel Osei-Frempong, Francisca Adai Torto, Stephen Kwabena Accorlor, Philip Kweku Baidoo, Samuel K Dadzie, John Asiedu Larbi
{"title":"Molecular Detection of Tick-Borne Pathogens in Kumasi: With a First Report of Zoonotic Pathogens in Abattoir Workers.","authors":"Seth Offei Addo, Stacy Amoah, Nancy Martekai Unicorn, Emmanuella Tiwaa Kyeremateng, Genevieve Desewu, Patrick Kwasi Obuam, Richard Odoi-Teye Malm, Emmanuel Osei-Frempong, Francisca Adai Torto, Stephen Kwabena Accorlor, Philip Kweku Baidoo, Samuel K Dadzie, John Asiedu Larbi","doi":"10.1155/2024/4848451","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Tick-borne pathogens continue to infect humans and animals worldwide. By adapting to the movement of livestock, ticks facilitate the spread of these infectious pathogens. Humans in close contact with animals that could be amplifying hosts are especially at risk of being infected with tick-borne pathogens. This study involved the collection of dry blood spots (DBSs) to determine tick-borne pathogens occurring in slaughtered livestock and abattoir workers in Kumasi. This study employed the use of conventional PCR, RT-PCR, and Sanger sequencing to detect and identify the tick-borne pathogens. The resulting data was analysed using Stata version 13. A total of 175 DBSs were collected from goats (76), cattle (54), and sheep (45) in the Kumasi abattoir (130, 74.29%) and Akwatia Line slaughter slab (45, 25.71%). The pathogens identified were mostly bacterial including <i>Anaplasma capra</i> (9.71%), <i>Anaplasma phagocytophilum</i> (1.14%), and <i>Rickettsia aeschlimannii</i> (0.57.%). The only parasite identified was <i>Theileria ovis</i> (9.14%). A significant association was seen between <i>A. capra</i> (<i>p</i> < 0.001) infection and female sheep sampled from the Akwatia Line slaughter slab. Again, there was a significant association between <i>T. ovis</i> (<i>p</i> < 0.001) infections and female sheep from the Kumasi abattoir. From the human DBS (63) screened, the pathogens identified were all bacterial including <i>Coxiella burnetii</i> (1.89%), <i>Rickettsia africae</i> (1.89%), and <i>R. aeschlimannii</i> (1.89%). This study reports the first detection of <i>R. aeschlimannii</i> in livestock as well as the occurrence of the above-mentioned pathogens in humans in Ghana. Animals can serve as amplifying hosts for infectious pathogens; hence, there is an increased risk of infections among the abattoir workers. Continuous surveillance effort is essential, and abattoir workers need to protect themselves from tick bites and infectious tick-borne pathogens.</p>","PeriodicalId":9007,"journal":{"name":"BioMed Research International","volume":"2024 ","pages":"4848451"},"PeriodicalIF":2.6000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11260511/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"BioMed Research International","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2024/4848451","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"BIOTECHNOLOGY & APPLIED MICROBIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Tick-borne pathogens continue to infect humans and animals worldwide. By adapting to the movement of livestock, ticks facilitate the spread of these infectious pathogens. Humans in close contact with animals that could be amplifying hosts are especially at risk of being infected with tick-borne pathogens. This study involved the collection of dry blood spots (DBSs) to determine tick-borne pathogens occurring in slaughtered livestock and abattoir workers in Kumasi. This study employed the use of conventional PCR, RT-PCR, and Sanger sequencing to detect and identify the tick-borne pathogens. The resulting data was analysed using Stata version 13. A total of 175 DBSs were collected from goats (76), cattle (54), and sheep (45) in the Kumasi abattoir (130, 74.29%) and Akwatia Line slaughter slab (45, 25.71%). The pathogens identified were mostly bacterial including Anaplasma capra (9.71%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (1.14%), and Rickettsia aeschlimannii (0.57.%). The only parasite identified was Theileria ovis (9.14%). A significant association was seen between A. capra (p < 0.001) infection and female sheep sampled from the Akwatia Line slaughter slab. Again, there was a significant association between T. ovis (p < 0.001) infections and female sheep from the Kumasi abattoir. From the human DBS (63) screened, the pathogens identified were all bacterial including Coxiella burnetii (1.89%), Rickettsia africae (1.89%), and R. aeschlimannii (1.89%). This study reports the first detection of R. aeschlimannii in livestock as well as the occurrence of the above-mentioned pathogens in humans in Ghana. Animals can serve as amplifying hosts for infectious pathogens; hence, there is an increased risk of infections among the abattoir workers. Continuous surveillance effort is essential, and abattoir workers need to protect themselves from tick bites and infectious tick-borne pathogens.
期刊介绍:
BioMed Research International is a peer-reviewed, Open Access journal that publishes original research articles, review articles, and clinical studies covering a wide range of subjects in life sciences and medicine. The journal is divided into 55 subject areas.