Ticks and prevalence of tick-borne pathogens from domestic animals in Ghana.
Shirley C Nimo-Paintsil, Mba Mosore, Seth Offei Addo, Taylor Lura, Janice Tagoe, Danielle Ladzekpo, Charlotte Addae, Ronald E Bentil, Eric Behene, Courage Dafeamekpor, Victor Asoala, Anne Fox, Chaselynn M Watters, Jeffrey W Koehler, Randy J Schoepp, Hanayo Arimoto, Samuel Dadzie, Andrew Letizia, Joseph W Diclaro
Author Information
Shirley C Nimo-Paintsil: United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Ghana Detachment, Accra, Ghana. snimo-paintsil@noguchi.ug.edu.gh.
Mba Mosore: United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Ghana Detachment, Accra, Ghana.
Seth Offei Addo: United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Ghana Detachment, Accra, Ghana.
Taylor Lura: Navy Entomology Center of Excellence, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
Janice Tagoe: United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Ghana Detachment, Accra, Ghana.
Danielle Ladzekpo: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
Charlotte Addae: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.
Ronald E Bentil: United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Ghana Detachment, Accra, Ghana.
Eric Behene: United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Ghana Detachment, Accra, Ghana.
Victor Asoala: Navrongo Health Research Center, Navrongo, Upper East Region, Ghana.
Anne Fox: United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Ghana Detachment, Accra, Ghana.
Chaselynn M Watters: United States Naval Medical Research Unit No. 3, Ghana Detachment, Accra, Ghana.
Jeffrey W Koehler: Diagnostic Systems Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD, USA.
Randy J Schoepp: Diagnostic Systems Division, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, MD, USA.
Hanayo Arimoto: Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit No. 5, San Diego, CA, USA.
Samuel Dadzie: Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana. sdadzie@noguchi.ug.edu.gh.
Andrew Letizia: Infectious Diseases Directorate, Naval Medical Research Center, Silver Spring,, MD, USA.
Joseph W Diclaro: Navy Entomology Center of Excellence, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
BACKGROUND: Ticks are important vectors of various pathogenic protozoa, bacteria and viruses that cause serious and life-threatening illnesses in humans and animals worldwide. Estimating tick-borne pathogen prevalence in tick populations is necessary to delineate how geographical differences, environmental variability and host factors influence pathogen prevalence and transmission. This study identified ticks and tick-borne pathogens in samples collected from June 2016 to December 2017 at seven sites within the Coastal, Sudan and Guinea savanna ecological zones of Ghana. METHODS: A total of 2016 ticks were collected from domestic animals including cattle, goats and dogs. Ticks were morphologically identified and analysed for pathogens such as Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Alkhurma haemorrhagic fever virus (AHFV), Rickettsia spp. and Coxiella burnetii using polymerase chain reaction assays (PCR) and sequence analysis. RESULTS: Seven species were identified, with Amblyomma variegatum (60%) most frequently found, followed by Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (21%), Rhipicephalus spp. (9%), Hyalomma truncatum (6%), Hyalomma rufipes (3%), Rhipicephalus evertsi (1%) and Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) sp. (0.1%). Out of 912 pools of ticks tested, Rickettsia spp. and Coxiella burnetii DNA was found in 45.6% and 16.7% of pools, respectively, whereas no CCHFV or AHFV RNA were detected. Co-infection of bacterial DNA was identified in 9.6% of tick pools, with no statistical difference among the ecozones studied. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these data, humans and animals in these ecological zones are likely at the highest risk of exposure to rickettsiosis, since ticks infected with Rickettsia spp. displayed the highest rates of infection and co-infection with C. burnetii, compared to other tick-borne pathogens in Ghana.
