Prevalence and co-infection with tick-borne Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia spp. in red deer (Cervus elaphus) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) in Southern Norway.

ABSTRACT: Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Babesia spp. are causative agents of tick-borne infections that are increasingly considered as a threat to animal and public health. To assess the role of cervids in the maintenance of zoonotic pathogens in Norway, we investigated the prevalence of A. phagocytophilum and Babesia spp. in free-ranging roe deer and red deer. Initial screening of spleen samples of 104 animals by multiplex real-time PCR targeting the major surface protein (msp2) gene and 18S rRNA revealed the presence of A. phagocytophilum infection in 81.1% red deer (Cervus elaphus) and 88.1% roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and Babesia spp. parasites in 64.9% red deer and 83.6% roe deer, respectively. Co-infections were found in 62.2%

SUBMITTER: Razanske I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6360459 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature