Short Communications
Severe Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia divergens concomitant infection in imported captive reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
Lola Romanos ,
Renaud Pierre Maillard *

Mac Vet Rev 2020; 43 (2): 185 - 191

10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0023

Received: 04 February 2020

Received in revised form: 18 June 2020

Accepted: 14 July 2020

Available Online First: 13 August 2020

Published on: 15 October 2020

Correspondence: Renaud Pierre Maillard, renaud.maillard@envt.fr
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Abstract

Tick-borne diseases are highly prevalent in domestic and wild ruminants and they may be distributed in wide geographical ranges by animal transportation. The aim of the current study was to investigate the presence of European strains of Babesia spp. and/or Anaplasma spp. in oversea imported reindeer specimens. Imported specimens (n=7) were hospitalized with visible tick infestation (Ixodes ricinus) and signs of cachexia, anemia, and hemoglobinuria. Using blood smears, PCR, and BLAST comparisons, it was confirmed that the animals were infected with a French strain of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia divergens which is considered to be absent in the USA. We conclude that oversea importation of reindeers must be followed with a routine check for geographically-specific strains of pathogens from the place of origin. This monitoring process must be dynamic and according to recent reports of tick-borne pathogens.

Keywords: Anaplasma, Babesia, Ixodes ricinus, reindeer

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Copyright

© 2020 Romanos L. This is an open-access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Citation Information

Macedonian Veterinary Review. Volume 43, Issue 2, Pages 185-191, e-ISSN 1857-7415, p-ISSN 1409-7621, DOI: 10.2478/macvetrev-2020-0023, 2020

The all content of the Macedonian Veterinary Review, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.