Babesia spp. in ticks collected from European bison

Abstract

Babesia are hard tick-transmitted protozoan hemoparasites, of great economic, veterinary and medical impact worldwide and have a wide host range, including hundreds of mammal species. All species of babesia are naturally transmitted by the bite of infected ticks. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Babesia pathogen in ticks collected from European bison (Bison bonasus). For that purpose, we used nestedPCR for Babesia spp. detection. A total of 242 ticks belonged to two species (Ixodes ricinus and Dermacentor reticulatus) were tested. Babesia DNA were found in 17.7% I. ricinus ticks and 5.4% D. reticulatus ticks. Sequence analysis of the 18S rRNR gene fragment showed that ticks were infected with Babesia divergens, Babesia venatorum and Babesia microti. The present study is the first report of Babesia spp. in ticks collected from European bison in Lithuania. Tick-borne pathogens can influence health and cause deaths of European bison