Molecular Epidemiology and Risk Factors Assessment of Anaplasma spp. on Dairy Cattle in Southwest of Iran

Abstract

DOI : 10.26650/actavet.2019.18014 The present study was carried out to determine Anaplasma species and potential risk factors associated with molecular prevalence of Anaplasma spp. among dairy cattle in southwest of Iran. A total of 88 samples out of 200 generated an expected amplicon of 866 bp from Anaplasma marginale msp4 gene. Six samples that were identified as A. marginale gave also positive results for A. phagocytophilum 16S rRNA gene with specific nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR). The multivariate analysis of risk factors revealed that the cattle of mountain regions were significantly (p=0.0001) at higher risk as compared to the plain regions. Cattle <1 year age and the latitude 32-33°C were significantly at lower risk (p<0.01). The cattle with low milk yield were significantly (p=0.002) at lower risk. Low hygienic farms were significantly (p=0.011) at higher risk as compared to good and normal hygienic farms. Distance from other farms (<1Km) was another important risk factor which showed significant association with the occurrence of Anaplasma infection (p=0.021). The results of this study can be used in strategic planning for prevention and control of bovine anaplasmosis in dairy cattle in the southwest of Iran.