Abstract
Rhipicephalus microplus is an ixodid tick with a pantropical distribution that represents a serious threat to livestock. West Africa was free of this tick until 2007, when its introduction into Benin was reported. Shortly thereafter, further invasion of this tick species into other West African countries was identified. In this paper, we describe the first detection of R. microplus in Guinea and list the vector-borne haemoparasites that were detected in the invading and indigenous Boophilus species. In 2018, we conducted a small-scale survey of ticks infesting cattle in three administrative regions of Guinea: N`Zerekore, Faranah, and Kankan. The tick species were identified by examining their morphological characteristics and by sequencing their COI gene and ITS-2 gene fragments. R. microplus was found in each studied region. In the ticks, we found the DNA of Babesia bigemina, Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma platys, and Ehrlichia sp. The results of this study indicate that R. microplus was introduced into Guinea in association with cows from Mali and/or the Ivory Coast.
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No ethics approval was required, as this study does not involve clinical trials or experimental procedures. The inspected cattle were slaughtered for human consumption. The slaughterhouse staff gave permission to collect ticks from the animals. The Research Ethics Committee of the Central Research Institute of Epidemiology (Moscow, Russia) has confirmed that no ethics approval was required.
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Makenov, M.T., Toure, A.H., Korneev, M.G. et al. Rhipicephalus microplus and its vector-borne haemoparasites in Guinea: further species expansion in West Africa. Parasitol Res 120, 1563–1570 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07122-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07122-x