Abstract

Objective: To evaluate prevalence of Anaplasma marginale (A. marginale) and associated risk factors in sheep and goat. Methods: A total of 500 blood samples (250 from sheep and 250 from goat) were collected from three different tehsils of Karak District and analyzed for presence of A. marginale using microscopy, indirect ELISA and real-time PCR. Results: The overall prevalence rate was 33.87%. The infection rate was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in Karak and Banda Daud Shah compared to Takht-e-Nasrati. It was observed that prevalence rate was higher by real-time PCR compared to indirect ELISA and microscopy. In tehsil Karak, the infection rate by microscopy, indirect ELISA and real-time PCR was 24.38%, 40.62% and 56.25%, respectively. Similar findings were observed in other two tehsils that realtime PCR results were more reliable. Conclusions: The overall prevalence rate was higher in sheep (47.25%) compared to goat (34.85%). Furthermore, among all the risk factors associated, presence of tick and unhygienic condition were highly associated with infection as shown by coefficient of correlation. This is the first report regarding A. marginale prevalence in sheep and goat in Karak District, Pakistan.

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