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Molecular survey of Babesia, Theileria, Trypanosoma, and Anaplasma infections in camels (Camelus dromedaries) in Egypt

Research Authors
Doaa Salmana, Thillaiampalam Sivakumar, Davaajav Otgonsuren, Motamed E. Mahmoudc, Ehab Kotb Elmahallawyd, Arafat Khalphallah, Ahmed M.E.Y. Kounourb, Sara A. Bayomi, Makoto Igarashi, Naoaki Yokoyama,
Research Abstract

The one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) or dromedary is an economically important domestic animal. However, infectious diseases, including those caused by vector-borne hemopathogens, frequently compromise the health and production of camels. In this study, we examined infections caused by Babesia, Theileria, Trypa-
nosoma, and Anaplasma species in camels in Egypt. We analyzed blood DNA samples from 148 camels reared in six Egyptian governorates (Giza, Asyut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, and the Red Sea) using pathogen-specific Poly-
merase Chain Reaction (PCR) assays. Our results indicated that 29 (19.6%), 22 (14.9%), 1 (0.7%), 2 (1.4%), 1 (0.7%), 2 (1.4%), and 28 (18.9%) of the surveyed animals were infected with Babesia bovis, B. bigemina, Babesia sp. Mymensingh, Theileria sp. Yokoyama, Theileria equi, Trypanosoma evansi, and Anaplasma marginale, respec-
tively. We found that a total of 68 (45.9%) animals were infected with at least one of the detected hemopath-
ogens. Sequencing analyses of PCR amplicons confirmed our diagnostic results. This study is the first to report Theileria sp. Yokoyama and Babesia sp. Mymensingh in Egypt. This is also the first report of infection with these two species in one-humped camel. In conclusion, this study found that camels in Egypt are infected with several vector-borne hemopathogens, including novel parasite species.

Research Date
Research Department
Research Journal
Parasitology International
Research Publisher
Elsevier
Research Rank
q2
Research Vol
90, 102618
Research Website
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1383576922000824?via%3Dihub
Research Year
2022
Research Pages
1-6