Presence ofRickettsia aeschlimannii, ‘CandidatusRickettsia barbariae’ and Coxiella burnetiiin ticks from livestock in Northwestern Algeria

Abstract

Livestock and their ectoparasites are involved in the epidemiology of several zoonotic diseases. Studies regarding the molecular detection of infectious agents in ticks from Northwestern Algeria are scarce. Thus, the presence of spotted fever groupRickettsiaspp., Anaplasmataceae microorganisms andCoxiella burnetiiwas investigated in ticks collected from ruminants in Sidi Bel Abbes and Saida provinces.Rickettsia aeschlimanniiwas detected in one Hyalomma excavatumpool and oneH. marginatumpool. Moreover,‘CandidatusRickettsia barbariae’ was found in oneH. excavatumand sixRhipicephalus bursapools. Lastly,Coxiella burnetiiwas amplified in twoH. excavatum and twoR. bursapools. No Anaplasmataceae bacterium was detected. This study demonstrates the presence of the tick-associated microorganism‘CandidatusR. barbariae’in the North of Africa, and corroborates the presence of the zoonotic pathogensR. aeschlimanniiandC. burnetiiin Algeria.