A Suite of Pathogens Detected in Ticks Sampled From Wildlife Hosts in Central Kenya

Abstract

Opportunistic sampling of ticks from animals during veterinary treatment offers important insights about wildlife exposure to pathogens. Here, we report pathogens and other tick-borne organisms detected in ticks sampled from 10 animal species in and near Laikipia County, Kenya, in 2014–2016. Pathogen analysis was performed using a combination of Fluidigm PCR and Illumina sequencing. We detected a suite of important pathogens affecting human and domestic and wild animal health, including Anaplasma marginale, Rickettsia africae and Theileria parva. These findings expand our limited understanding of wildlife exposure to tick-borne pathogens and potential ramifications for animal health and conservation.