Tick (Amblyomma chabaudi) XXXX of endemic tortoises in southwest Madagascar and investigation of tick-borne pathogens.

@entity1 @entity12732 @entity277 @entity743 @entity221 @entity16452
UNASSIGNED: Little is known about the role of endemic ticks as vectors for bacterial and protozoan pathogens for animals and @entity1 in Madagascar and their interaction in anthropogenic habitats where @entity1 , their livestock and native Malagasy species (vectors and hosts) come into more frequent contact than in natural forest ecosystems. The aims of the study were (1) to test whether habitat degradation is associated with increased @entity277 of tortoises by ticks and (2) to investigate whether ticks carried @entity743 , @entity12732 or @entity16452 species that might be pathogenic for @entity1 and livestock. We studied hard ticks of two endemic Malagasy tortoises, Astrochelys radiata and Pyxis arachnoides in March and April 2013 in southwest Madagascar. Two tortoise habitats were compared, the National Park of Tsimanampetsotsa and the adjacent degraded pasture and agricultural land at the end of the wet season. Ticks were screened for protozoan and bacterial pathogens via PCR on DNA isolated from ticks using genus-specific primers. Only one out of 42 A. radiata collected from both habitats had ticks. The low prevalence did not allow further analyses of the effect of habitat degradation. Forty-two P. arachnoides were found in the anthropogenic habitat and 36 individuals in the national park. @entity277 rates of P. arachnoides differed significantly between the two study sites. Tortoises inside the park had lower tick prevalence than outside (8 of 36 (22%) versus 32 of 42 individuals (76%)) and infected animals tended to have fewer ticks inside than outside the park. All ticks collected in both habitats were adults of the ixodid tick Amblyomma chabaudi, which is supposed to be a host-specific tick of P. arachnoides. Screening for @entity12732 sp. and @entity743 sp. was negative in all ticks. But all A. chabaudi ticks were infected with @entity16452 africae, known to cause spotted @entity221 in @entity1 . Thus, habitat degradation seems to be linked to higher @entity277 of tortoises with ticks with possible consequences for @entity1 and their livestock.
