Predominance of Ehrlichia chaffeensis in Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks from kennel-confined dogs in Limbe, Cameroon

Abstract

Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks (n = 63) collected from five dogs (two adults and three puppies) housed in a kennel were screened for Ehrlichial agents (Ehrlichia canis, E. chaffeensis, and E. ewingii) using a species-specific multicolor real-time TaqMan PCR amplification of the disulphide bond formation protein (dsb) gene. Ehrlichia chaffeensis DNA was detected in 33 (56%) ticks, E. canis DNA was detected in four (6%) ticks, and one tick was coinfected. The E. chaffeensis and E. canis nucleotide sequences of the amplified dsb gene (374 bp) obtained from the Cameroonian R. sanguineus ticks were identical to the North American genotypes.