Identification of Fauna of Hard Ticks Collected from Livestock and Molecular Investigation of Coxiella burnetii as Potential Vectors of Q-Fever in South-Khorsan

Coxiella burnetii infection (causative agent of Q fever) is a public health problem and a zoonotic disease with a global prevalence. The importance of zoonotic diseases and their impact on the health of people in a community is undeniable. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Coxiella burnetii in hard ticks isolated from livestock in different parts of South Khorasan, Iran.

In summer 2019, ticks were collected from cattle, sheep, camels, and goats in five counties of South Khorasan province. The genus and species of hard ticks were identified after isolation from livestock. Nested-PCR was used to identify the bacterial genome.

We identified two genera and six species, including Rhipicephalus sanguineus (41. 3%), Hyalomma detritum (8.9%), Hyalomma marginatum (2.2%), Hyalomma anatolicum (3.3%), Hyalomma asiaticum (0.9%), Hyalomma dromedarii (33.5%), and Hyalomma spp. (3.7%). Hyalomma nymphs (n=11, 4.1%) and Rhipicephalus nymphs (n= 3, 1.1%) were also identified. In the present study, none of the samples were infected with Coxiella burnetii.

The present study revealed that South Khorasan province is free from epidemic and endemic foci of Coxiella burnetii.