First study on molecular detection of hemopathogens in tabanid flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) and cattle in Southern Thailand

Vet World Vol.15 August-2022 Article-24

Research Article

Veterinary World, 15(8): 2089-2094

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.2089-2094

Narin Sontigun^1,2,3, Worakan Boonhoh^1,2, Yotsapat Phetcharat¹, and Tuempong Wongtawan^1,2,3

1. Akkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.
2. One Health Research Center, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.
3. Centre of Excellence Research for Melioidosis and Other Microorganisms, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.

Background and Aim: Female tabanids play a key role in disease transmission as mechanical vectors for various hemopathogens, but only a limited number of studies have been conducted on them. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence of hemopathogens in tabanid flies compared to those found in nearby cattle hosts.

Materials and Methods: Tabanids were collected using a Nzi trap for three consecutive days per month during the dry season (February–May 2021). Furthermore, blood samples were collected from 20 beef cattle (Bos taurus) raised in the same area where the flies were captured. Conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect hemopathogenic DNA in flies and beef cattle.

Results: In total, 279 female tabanids belonging to five species were collected: Tabanus megalops, Tabanus rubidus, Tabanus mesogaeus, Chrysops dispar, and Chrysops fuscomarginalis. Notably, T. megalops was the most abundant species, accounting for 89.2% of the flies collected (n = 249). PCR technique revealed that 76.6% of T. megalops carried at least one pathogen (Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Babesia, or Theileria). In addition, all beef cattle had multiple hemopathogenic infections (Anaplasma marginale, Ehrlichia spp., Babesia bigemina, Babesia bovis, and Theileria spp.).

Conclusion: Although T. megalops could carry many hemopathogens, it might not be an important vector due to the limited number of flies and parasitic load. Furthermore, T. megalops could be utilized to monitor the presence of hemopathogens in the study area, but not the disease occurrence in the individual host species. Knowing the presence of hemopathogens in flies could help manage the disease in this area. Keywords: cattle, hemopathogen, tabanids, Thailand, vector.

Keywords: cattle, hemopathogen, tabanids, Thailand, vector.

How to cite this article: Sontigun N, Boonhoh W, Phetcharat Y, and Wongtawan T (2022) First study on molecular detection of hemopathogens in tabanid flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) and cattle in Southern Thailand, Veterinary World, 15(8): 2089–2094.

Received: 26-04-2022 Accepted: 02-08-2022 Published online: 28-08-2022

Corresponding author: Narin Sontigun E-mail: narin.so@mail.wu.ac.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.2089-2094

Copyright: Sontigun, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.