Rhipicephalus microplusand its vector-borne haemoparasites in Guinea: further species expansion in West Africa

Abstract

AbstractRhipicephalus microplusis 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, the further invasion of this tick into West African countries was demonstrated. In this paper, we describe the first detection ofR. microplusin Guinea and list the vector-borne haemoparasites that were detected in the invader and indigenousBoophilusspecies.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. micropluswas found in each studied region. In the ticks, we found DNA ofBabesia bigemina,Anaplasma marginale, Anaplasma platys, andEhrlichia spp. The results of this study indicate thatR. micropluswas introduced into Guinea with cows from Mali and/or Ivory Coast.