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%.