Investigation of Ixodidae ticks infesting camels at slaughterhouse and its potential role in transmitting Coxiella burnetii in Egypt

Abstract Coxiella burnetii is an important pathogen because of its wide host range, low infectious dose, stability in the environment, and capability for aerosol dispersion. The aim of this work was to investigate the potential role of hard ticks found on camels in transmitting Coxiella burnetii. A total number of adult hard ticks (n.370) were collected from 181 imported camels brought for slaughter in Cairo, Egypt. Ticks were identified using a stereomicroscope then screened for the presence of C. burnetii by PCR. Most camels were infested with Hyalomma dromedarii (n.171, 94.5%) whereas other species were less prevalent, including Amblyomma hebraeum (n.19, 10.5%), Rhipicephalus pulchellus (n.11, 6.1%), H. anatolicum anatolicum (n.9, 5%), A. variegatum (n.8, 4.4%) and A. gemma (n.4, 2.2%). It is important to note that A. variegatum, A. gemma and Rhipicephalus pulchellus are rarely identified in Egypt, despite the higher prevalence in countries where camels came from. Four out of the six identified ixodid tick species yielded positive results for C. burnetii with an overall prevalence of 5.4%, while prevalence of the other tick species was 6.6%, 5.6%, 5.3% and 3.6% for H. dromedarii, A. variegatum, H. anatolicum anatolicum and R. pulchellus respectively.The current study identified a wide array of hard tick species found on camels and highlights the potential role of such ticks in transmitting C. burnetii.