Molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens harbored by ticks collected from local breed (Non-descript) of cattle in the chhattishgarh state of India

A morphological study of a total of 3322 ticks revealed the presence of three types of tick genera i.e. Hyalomma , Rhipicephalus , and Haemophyasalis in Chhattisgarh state . Among them, two species of Hyalomma viz., Hyalomma anatolicum (22.51%) and Hyalomma rufipes (2.82%), one species of Haemaphysalis i.e., Haemaphysalis bispinosa (8.12%) and three species of Rhipicephalus viz., Rhipicephalus microplus (58.85%), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (4.18%) and Rhipicephalus turanicus (1.80%), were recorded. However, few tick species (1.68%) could not be identified because of damaged body parts. The distribution of intra-acarine haemoprotozoan parasites of Chhattisgarh state revealed the highest prevalence (75%) in Hyalomma anatolicum followed by Rhipicephalus microplus (39.39%). However, no intra-acarine haemoprotozons was observed in Hyalomma rufipes (4 pools), Hyalomma bispinosa (12 pools), Rhipicephalus sanguineus (4 pools) and 4 pools of Rhipicephalus turanicus . The zone-wise percent of haemoprotozoans was 72.22%, 25.92% and 17.85% in Chhattisgarh Plain, Bastar Plateau, and Northern Hill regions, respectively. The overall percent of intra-acarine haemoprotozoans ( Theleria and Babesia spp.) in Chhattisgarh state was 34.24%.