Publications

the recent evolution of a maternally-inherited endosymbiont of ticks led to the emergence of the q fever pathogen, coxiella burnetii.	q fever is a highly infectious disease with a worldwide distribution. its causative agent, the intracellular bacterium coxiella burnetii, infects a variety of vertebrate species, including humans. its evolutionary origin remains almost entirely unknown and uncertainty persists regarding the identity and lifestyle of its ancestors. a few tick species were recently found to harbor maternally-inherited coxiella-like organisms engaged in symbiotic interactions, but their relationships to the q fever ...	2015	25978383
identification of a novel β-adrenergic octopamine receptor-like gene (βaor-like) and increased atp-binding cassette b10 (abcb10) expression in a rhipicephalus microplus cell line derived from acaricide-resistant ticks.	the cattle tick rhipicephalus (boophilus) microplus is an economically important parasite of livestock. effective control of ticks using acaricides is threatened by the emergence of resistance to many existing compounds. several continuous r. microplus cell lines have been established and provide an under-utilised resource for studies into acaricide targets and potential genetic mutations associated with resistance. as a first step to genetic studies using these resources, this study aimed to de ...	2016	27484910
infestation and identification of ixodid tick in cattle: the case of arbegona district, southern ethiopia.	the study was conducted from october 2014 to june 2015 to estimate tick prevalence and identify major tick genera infesting cattle and the associated risk factors in arbegona district, southern ethiopia. a total of 2024 adult ticks were collected from main body parts of animals and eight species of ticks which belong to three genera were identified. questionnaire survey was employed concerning the general case on the tick infestation problems on the cattle. from 384 cattle examined, 291 (75.7%) ...	2016	28105466
emergence of multi-acaricide resistant rhipicephalus ticks and its implication on chemical tick control in uganda.	acaricide failure has been on the rise in the western and central cattle corridor of uganda. in this study, we identified the tick species associated with acaricide failure and determined their susceptibility to various acaricide molecules used for tick control in uganda.	2016	26727991
anaplasma, ehrlichia and rickettsial pathogens in ixodid ticks infesting cattle and sheep in western oromia, ethiopia.	although ticks are widely distributed in all agro-ecological zones of ethiopia, information on tick-borne pathogens is scarce. this study was conducted to determine the presence of anaplasma spp., ehrlichia spp., and rickettsia spp. in rhipicephalus evertsi and rhipicephalus (boophilus) decoloratus collected from cattle and sheep at bako, western oromia, ethiopia, using polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. anaplasma ovis and anaplasma spp., ehrlichia ruminantium and ehrlichia spp. were dete ...	2016	27411938
multiple pathogens including potential new species in tick vectors in côte d'ivoire.	our study aimed to assess the presence of different pathogens in ticks collected in two regions in côte d'ivoire.	2016	26771308
isolation and maintenance of rickettsia raoultii in a rhipicephalus sanguineus tick cell line.	rickettsia raoultii, a member of the spotted fever group rickettsiae, has been implicated in cases of debonel/tibola/senlat, and has been detected in dermacentor spp. and rhipicephalus pumilio ticks by pcr. r. raoultii has been isolated in mammalian and tick cell lines. this study aimed to isolate r. raoultii from spanish dermacentor marginatus in tick cell lines. a single adult d. marginatus collected from vegetation in la rioja (northen spain) in october 2012 was surface-sterilised, triturated ...	2016	26428859
seroepidemiological studies of crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever virus in domestic and wild animals.	crimean-congo hemorrhagic fever (cchf) is a widely distributed, tick-borne viral disease. humans are the only species known to develop illness after cchf virus (cchfv) infection, characterized by a nonspecific febrile illness that can progress to severe, often fatal, hemorrhagic disease. a variety of animals may serve as asymptomatic reservoirs of cchfv in an endemic cycle of transmission. seroepidemiological studies have been instrumental in elucidating cchfv reservoirs and in determining endem ...	2016	26741652
growth of ehrlichia canis, the causative agent of canine monocytic ehrlichiosis, in vector and non-vector ixodid tick cell lines.	canine monocytic ehrlichiosis is caused by ehrlichia canis, a small gram-negative coccoid bacterium that infects circulating monocytes. the disease is transmitted by the brown dog tick rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. and is acknowledged as an important infectious disease of dogs and other members of the family canidae worldwide. e. canis is routinely cultured in vitro in the canine monocyte-macrophage cell line dh82 and in non-vector ixodes scapularis tick cell lines, but not in cells derived from ...	2016	26837859
matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry for comprehensive indexing of east african ixodid tick species.	the tick population of africa includes several important genera belonging to the family ixodidae. many of these ticks are vectors of protozoan and rickettsial pathogens including theileria parva that causes east coast fever, a debilitating cattle disease endemic to eastern, central and southern africa. effective surveillance of tick-borne pathogens depends on accurate identification and mapping of their tick vectors. a simple and reproducible technique for rapid and reliable differentiation of l ...	2016	26979606
tick-borne pathogens of zoonotic and veterinary importance in nigerian cattle.	ticks and tick-borne diseases undermine cattle fitness and productivity in the whole of sub-saharan africa, including nigeria. in this west african country, cattle are challenged by numerous tick species, especially during the wet season. consequently, several tbds are known to be endemic in nigerian cattle, including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, cowdriosis and theilerioris (by theileria mutans and theileria velifera). to date, all investigations on cattle tbds in nigeria have been based on cytolog ...	2016	27090756
analyses of mitochondrial genes reveal two sympatric but genetically divergent lineages of rhipicephalus appendiculatus in kenya.	the ixodid tick rhipicephalus appendiculatus transmits the apicomplexan protozoan parasite theileria parva, which causes east coast fever (ecf), the most economically important cattle disease in eastern and southern africa. recent analysis of micro- and minisatellite markers showed an absence of geographical and host-associated genetic sub-structuring amongst field populations of r. appendiculatus in kenya. to assess further the phylogenetic relationships between field and laboratory r. appendic ...	2016	27334334
occurrence of ticks in cattle in the new pastoral farming areas in rufiji district, tanzania.	ticks and tick-borne diseases plus trypanosomosis are a constraint to cattle rearing in tanzania. rufiji district was not known for important ticks infesting cattle because inhabitants were not engaged in keeping livestock. not only has settlement of pastoralists and cattle in rufiji increased the number of cattle but also cattle have been the source of bringing in and spreading of ticks. this study investigated tick species that have been introduced and managed to establish themselves in the ne ...	2016	27990463
parasites of domestic and wild animals in south africa. l. ixodid ticks infesting horses and donkeys.	the aim of the study was to determine the species spectrum of ixodid ticks that infest horses and donkeys in south africa and to identify those species that act as vectors of disease to domestic livestock. ticks were collected opportunistically from 391 horses countrywide by their owners or grooms, or by veterinary students and staff at the faculty of veterinary science, university of pretoria. ticks were also collected from 76 donkeys in limpopo province, 2 in gauteng province and 1 in north we ...	2017	28281774
molecular and maldi-tof identification of ticks and tick-associated bacteria in mali.	ticks are considered the second vector of human and animal diseases after mosquitoes. therefore, identification of ticks and associated pathogens is an important step in the management of these vectors. in recent years, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (maldi-tof ms) has been reported as a promising method for the identification of arthropods including ticks. the objective of this study was to improve the conditions for the preparation of tick samples ...	2017	28742123
shifts in the distribution of ixodid ticks parasitizing cattle in zimbabwe.	in an attempt to update information on the ecological distribution of ixodid ticks (ixodida: ixodidae) in zimbabwe, a cross-sectional survey was carried out between september 2013 and may 2015 at 322 dip tanks. a total of 15 tick species were collected, namely: amblyomma hebraeum koch (65.2%, n = 210/322), amblyomma variegatum fabricius (14.9%, n = 48/322), hyalomma rufipes koch (62.4%, n = 201/322), hyalomma truncatum koch (37.9%, n = 122/322), rhipicephalus appendiculatus neumann (60.6%, n = 1 ...	2017	27935088
genetic parameters for tick counts across months for different tick species and anatomical locations in south african nguni cattle.	the objective of the study was to characterise genetic parameters across months for different tick species and anatomical locations in south african nguni cattle. tick counts were conducted monthly, over a 2-year period, on 586 nguni cattle under natural infestation, from four herds located in different provinces of south africa. the counts were recorded for six species of ticks (amblyomma hebraeum, rhipicephalus evertsi evertsi, rhipicephalus decoleratus and microplus (boofilids), rhipicephalus ...	2017	28687941