First Molecular Identification of Babesia , Theileria , and Anaplasma in Goats from the Philippines.

Goats are key livestock animals and goat raising is an income-generating venture for smallholder farmers, supporting agricultural development in many parts of the world. However, goat production is often limited by various factors, such as tick-borne diseases. Goat piroplasmosis is a disease caused by apicomplexan parasites Babesia spp. and Theileria spp., while anaplasmosis is caused by bacterial Anaplasma spp. In the Philippines, the presence of Babesia , Theileria , and Anaplasma has not been reported in goats. In this study, DNA obtained from goats were molecularly screened for Babesia/Theileria and Anaplasma . Of 396, 77.02% (305/396) and 38.64% (153/396) were positive for piroplasma and Anaplasma using PCR assays targeting the 18S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes, respectively. Similarly, Babesia ovis was detected in six samples (1.52%). Representative Babesia/Theileria sequences shared 89.97-97.74% identity with each other and were most closely related to T. orientalis , T. annulata , and Theileria spp. Meanwhile, Anaplasma 16SrRNA sequences were related to A. odocoilei , A. platys, and A. phagocytophilum . This is the first molecular identification of B. ovis, Theileria spp., and Anaplasma spp. in goats from the Philippines.