Detection of Tick-Borne Bacterial and Protozoan Pathogens in Ticks from the Zambia-Angola Border.

Tick-borne diseases (TBDs), including emerging and re-emerging zoonoses, are of public health importance worldwide; however, TBDs tend to be overlooked, especially in countries with fewer resources, such as Zambia and Angola. Here, we investigated Rickettsia , Anaplasmataceae , and Apicomplexan pathogens in 59 and 96 adult ticks collected from dogs and cattle, respectively, in Shangombo, a town at the Zambia-Angola border. We detected Richkettsia africae and Rickettsia aeschilimannii in 15.6% of Amblyomma variegatum and 41.7% of Hyalomma truncatum ticks, respectively. Ehrlichia minasensis was detected in 18.8% of H. truncatum , and Candidatus Midichloria mitochondrii was determined in Hyalomma marginatum . We also detected Babesia caballi and Theileria velifera in A. variegatum ticks with a 4.4% and 6.7% prevalence, respectively. In addition, Hepatozoon canis was detected in 6.5% of Rhipicephalus lunulatus and 4.3% of Rhipicephalus sanguineus . Coinfection of R. aeshilimannii and E. minasensis were observed in 4.2% of H. truncatum . This is the first report of Ca. M. mitochondrii and E. minasensis , and the second report of B. caballi , in the country. Rickettsia africae and R. aeschlimannii are pathogenic to humans, and E. minasensis , B. caballi , T. velifera , and H. canis are pathogenic to animals. Therefore, individuals, clinicians, veterinarians, and pet owners should be aware of the distribution of these pathogens in the area.