Estimation of the Prevalence of Ehrlichia ruminantium in Amblyomma spp. and Blood of Domestic Ruminants in the Sudan by Conventional PCR Based on pCS20 Gene Region

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate molecular epidemiology of heartwater in the Sudan by assessing prevalence of infection in domestic ruminants and the vector tick of the genus Amblyomma using the standard PCR technique based on the pCS20 gene. Four hundred and sixty samples were collected from different regions in the Sudan. They included 190 Amblyomma lepidum and 100 Amblyomma variegatum ticks, and 50, 60 and 50 blood samples from cattle, sheep and goats respectively. The samples were tested with pCS20 PCR. The infection rate of E. ruminantium was 15.3% (29/190) and 14% (14/100) in A. lepidum and A. variegatum, respectively. The prevalence of E. ruminantium in the blood samples was 6.7% (4/60), 4% (2/50) and 8.3% (5/60) from cattle, sheep and goats, respectively. It defined the spatial distribution and prevalence of E. ruminantium in the vector population and domestic ruminants and provided an accurate assessment of the potential risk of heartwater to livestock in some endemic regions in the Sudan. This study has proved the way for a national program for the investigation of the epidemiology of heartwater in the Sudan.