Prevalence of Anaplasma Infection and Some Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle Region, Somalia

Abstract

Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease (TBD) which damages the output of livestock in sub-Saharan Africa including Somalia. Yet to date, no studies have been done in the farming areas of the Lower Shebelle region of Somalia to establish the prevalence of the Cattle Anaplasmosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and some associated Anaplasmosis risk factors using microscopic technique. A total of 127 Cattle blood samples were collected from three districts of Lower shabelle region of Somalia through January to February 2020. Thin dried Giemsa's stained blood smears were prepared from the samples and tested for Anaplasma spp under microscope. The overall prevalence of Cattle Anaplasmosis in the study area was (72.4%, 95%CI: 63.8-80.0), regarding the species identification using the intra-erythrocytic morphological position of the organism, 8/92 (8.7%, 95%CI: 3.8-16.4%) were single infection of A. marginale and 84/92 (91.3%, 95%CI: 83.6-96.2) were coexistence of A. centrale and A. marginale. The disease was found to be prevalent throughout the region without significance association between the infections and the analyzed risk factors like district, sex, age, body condition, tick infestation and

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Prevalence of Anaplasma Infection and Some
Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle Region,
Somalia
AAMIR MUSE OSMAN
1
Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine
Abrar University, Mogadishu, Somalia
KALTHOUM MOALLIM YUSUF
Department of Parasitology, College of Veterinary Medicine
Abrar University, Mogadishu, Somalia
ABDALLA MOHAMED IBRAHIM
Director of Abrar and Research Training Center
Abrar University, Mogadisho, Somalia
Abstract
Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease (TBD) which damages the
output of livestock in sub-Saharan Africa including Somalia. Yet to
date, no studies have been done in the farming areas of the Lower
Shebelle region of Somalia to establish the prevalence of the Cattle
Anaplasmosis. The objective of this study was to investigate the
prevalence and some associated Anaplasmosis risk factors using
microscopic technique. A total of 127 Cattle blood samples were collected
from three districts of Lower shabelle region of Somalia through
January to February 2020. Thin dried Giemsa’s stained blood smears
were prepared from the samples and tested for Anaplasma spp under
microscope. The overall prevalence of Cattle Anaplasmosis in the study
area was (72.4%, 95%CI: 63.8-80.0), regarding the species identification
using the intra-erythrocytic morphological position of the organism,
8/92 (8.7%, 95%CI: 3.8-16.4%) were single infection of A. marginale and
84/92 (91.3%, 95%CI: 83.6-96.2) were co-existence of A. centrale and A.
marginale. The disease was found to be prevalent throughout the region
without significance association between the infections and the analyzed
risk factors like district, sex, age, body condition, tick infestation and
1
Corresponding author: aamirmuse@gmail.com

Aamir Muse Osman, Kalthoum Moallim Yusuf, Abdalla Mohamed Ibrahim- Prevalence
of Anaplasma Infection and Some Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle
Region, Somalia
EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEA RCH - Vol. VIII, Issue 6 / September 2020
3281
place. The mean PCV of the infected cattle was insignificantly (P =
0.168) lower than the non-infected ones. The overall tick infestation of
cattle was 34/127 (26.8%). Six tick species belonging to the
Rhipicephalus and Amblyomma genera were identified in the
investigated cattles, including, R. pulchellus, R. (Boophilus) microplus,
R. (Boophilus) decoloratus, R. evertsi, A. gemma, and A. lepidum. In
conclusion, this study shows that Anaplasmosis is endemic among
Cattle in lower Shabelle region of Somalia. Additional studies are
necessary to evaluate the clinical and economic impact of Anaplasmosis
and other TBDs in the country for building better Animal diseases
management and control strategy.
Keywords: Anaplasma spp., Anaplasmosis, Cattle, Prevalence,
Somalia, Tick.
INTRODUCTION:
Cattle Anaplasmosis is one of the most important tick-borne diseases
in the tropical and subtropical (400 N–320 S) livestock industries,
including Somalia [1, 2].
“The diseases is caused by Gram-negative obligate intracellular
bacteria parasitizing erythrocytes Anaplasma marginale and to a
lesser pathogenicity by A. centrale [3].
In 2013 Somalia had an estimated cattle population of over 5.1
million heads [4]. Cattle’s economic importance for Somalia lies in food
safety and milk production. The average estimated milk production per
cow is 2 liters per day with an estimated gate farm price of 1 USD [4].
Transmission of Cattle Anaplasmosis typically occurs in two
different forms, Mechanical transmission and Biological transmission
[2]. In biological transmission, Tick is considered the primary vector
for the disease [5]. In mechanical transmission, the organism is
transferred by biting flies or equipment co ntaminated with infected
blood [1].
Animals with acute Anaplasmosis may present with a variety
of symptoms such as fever, oculonasal discharge, tachycardia, tachypn
ea, abnormal mucous membrane color, and low PCV values. Although

Aamir Muse Osman, Kalthoum Moallim Yusuf, Abdalla Mohamed Ibrahim- Prevalence
of Anaplasma Infection and Some Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle
Region, Somalia
EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEA RCH - Vol. VIII, Issue 6 / September 2020
3282
these symptoms are not pathognomonic, and animals with chronic
infections can be asymptomatic carriers [6].
In Somalia, previous studies on detection of Anaplasma
Infections were performed during the 1990s, the reported prevalence
was (0.8%) [7]. Due to the significant livelihood benefits derived from
cattle in Somalia, successful management of Anaplasmosis in cattle
depends on adequate knowledge of Anaplasmosis prevalence and the
risk factors associated with transmission [8]. Hence, the purpose of this
study was to determine by microscopic technique the prevalence and
certain risk factors of anaplasmosis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study area
Lower Shabelle region is one of the eighteen regions of the Federal
Republic of Somalia. It comprises eight districts, three of them were
included this study namely Afgoi ( Latitude: 2° 08' 17.16" N and
Longitude: 45° 07' 16.32" E), Awdhegle (Latitude: 1.9805° N,
Longitude: 44.8330° E) and Wanleweyn (Latitude: 2° 37' 6.60" N and
Longitude: 44° 53' 37.68" E).
Study population and Samples
A total of 127 Cattle (119 females and 8 males), <2 years-old (n = 10),
2-5 years-old (n = 50), and >5 years-old (n = 67) from Awdhegle (n = 65),
Wanlaweyn (n = 44) and Afgoye (n = 18) districts were sampled.
Blood samples were collected by jugular venipuncture. Three
milliliters were placed into EDTA tubes for packed cell volume (PCV)
measurement and microscopic detection of Anaplasma spp. Animals
with PCV less than 24% were considered to be anaemic [9].
Tick collection:
All visible ticks were manually collected by using forceps in a bottles
containing 70% ethanol from each cattle. The ticks were then
transported to the Abrar Research and Training Centre (ARTC) in
Abrar University, Mogadishu-Somalia for identification.

Aamir Muse Osman, Kalthoum Moallim Yusuf, Abdalla Mohamed Ibrahim- Prevalence
of Anaplasma Infection and Some Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle
Region, Somalia
EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEA RCH - Vol. VIII, Issue 6 / September 2020
3283
Laboratory Examination:
Thin dried Giemsa stained blood smears
Thin dried Giemsa stained blood smears were prepared and
investigated under microscope for Anaplasma spp.
Packed Cell Volume determination
Packed Cell Volume determination Blood was collected on capillary
tubes and centrifuged at 12,000 rpm for 5 minutes to evaluate the level
of anaemia in the examined animals.
Tick identification:
Ticks were identified to stages and species level using a
stereomicroscope according to their morphological key.
Data Analysis
The PCV data were not normally distributed (Shapiro– Wilk normality
test, W = 0.98, P = 0.025). Therefore, a non-parametric Mann–Whitney
test was used to compare the PCV concentration between Anaplasma
infected and non-infected Cattle.
The data obtained from the field were recorded in notebook and
later stored in Microsoft Excel 2013 and analyzed using software
SPSS® version 25.
Descriptive statistics were presented as tables. The association
of Cattle Anaplasmosis with different independent variables (age, sex,
body condition, lymphnode enlargement and presence of ticks) was
analyzed using logistic regression.
Result:
A total of 127 blood samples from Cattle were investigated for
Aaplasmosis and the overall prevalence of Cattle Anaplasmosis was
(72.4%, 95%CI: 63.8-80.0), regarding the species identified for
Anaplasmosis 8/92 (8.7%, 95%CI: 3.8-16.4%) were A. marginale and
84/92 (91.3%, 95%CI: 83.6-96.2) were both A.centrale and A.marginale.
The highest prevalence of Cattle Anaplasmosis recorded (54.3%) was
Awdhegle, flowed (35.9%) was walaweyn and the lowest was (9.8%) in
Afgoye. This difference was not statistically significant (χ2 = 5.34, P=
0.069).

Aamir Muse Osman, Kalthoum Moallim Yusuf, Abdalla Mohamed Ibrahim- Prevalence
of Anaplasma Infection and Some Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle
Region, Somalia
EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEA RCH - Vol. VIII, Issue 6 / September 2020
3284
Risk factors associated with Cattle Anaplasmosis
Based on the study districts was found non-significantly (P= 0.069)
associated with the occurrence of Cattle Anaplasmosis. However, via
univariate analysis study districts proved to be a potential risk factor
(OR = 0.9; CI = 0.4-2.2) for the occurrence of Cattle Anaplasmosis. Sex
of the animal proved to be a potent risk factor for Cattle Anaplasmosis
(OR = 0.4; CI = 0.0-3.0), where male showed a higher prevalence (87.5
%) than female (71.4%) animals, respectively, however, it was
statistical insignificant on chi-square test. Similarly, Age of animal
proved as a risk factor for the occurrence of Cat tle Anaplasmosis based
on the univariate analysis (OR = 1.8; CI = 0.4-9.3), though it was non-
significantly associated with the disease dynamics based on chi-square
test (P=0.582).
The tick infestation status of animals was found statistically
insignificance (OR = 0.6; CI = 0.2-1.7; p > 0.05) associated with the
occurrence of disease. Body condition of animals showed a positive
association (OR = 0.9; CI = 0.3-3.0) as risk factor with the disease
occurrence, however, on chi-square test association was found non-
significant with Cattle Anaplasmosis (P=0.652). (table 1).
The mean PCV concentration for Cattle was 0.26 l/l. No
statistical difference (U = 1339.5, Z = − 1.38, P = 0.168) was found in
mean PCV between Anaplasma- positive (0.27 l/l) and Anaplasma-
negative Cattle (0.29 l/l).
Tick identified in study area.
The Overall infestation of cattle with tick was 34/127 (26.8%). The
identified tick species in study area were six species. The overall, six
tick species belonging to the Rhipicephalus and Amblyomma genera, R.
pulchellus (64.7%), R. (Boophilus) microplus, (2%) R. (Boophilus)
decoloratus (2%), R.evertsi, (3.9%) A.gemma (15.7%), and A.lepidum
(11.8%).

Aamir Muse Osman, Kalthoum Moallim Yusuf, Abdalla Mohamed Ibrahim- Prevalence
of Anaplasma Infection and Some Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle
Region, Somalia
EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEA RCH - Vol. VIII, Issue 6 / September 2020
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Table 1: Prevalence of Catlle Anaplasmosis within each variable
studied
Variable
Anaplasm osis
+/n
Prevalenc e%
95% CI:
P-
value
χ2
OR 95% CI:
District
Walweyn
33/4 4
75
(59.7-8 6.8%)
0.99 2
0.053
0.9(0. 4-2.2 )
Afgoye
9/9
50
(66.4-1 00%)
0.05 8
4.971
0.3(0. 1-0.9)
Awdhegl e
50/6 5
76.9
(64.8-8 6.5%)
Ref
Sex
Female
85/119
71.4
(62.4-7 9.3)
0.59 6
0.967
0.4(0. 0-3.0)
Male
7/8
87.5
(47.4-9 9.7)
Ref
Age
<2
8/10
80
(44.4-9 7.5)
0.74 7
0.535
1.8(0. 4-9.3)
2-5
38/5 0
76
(61.8-8 6.9)
0.50 7
0.763
1.4(0. 6-3.3)
>5
46/6 7
68.7
(56.2-7 9.4)
Ref
Body
condition
Good
49/6 6
74.2
(62.0-8 4.2)
0.99 9
0.005
0.9(0. 3-3.0)
Moderate
28/4 1
68.3
(51.9-8 1.9)
0.82 2
0.291
0.7(0. 2-2.4)
Poor
15/2 0
75
(50.9-9 1.3)
Ref
Tick p resence
No
69/9 8
70.4
(60.3-7 9.2)
0.48 7
0.888
0.6(0. 2-1.7)
Yes
23/2 9
79.3
(60.3-92)
Ref
Lymphnode
Normal
90/124
72.6
(63.9 -80.2 )
0.99 9
0.051
1.3(0. 1-15.1 )
Enlargeme nt
2/3
66.7
(9.4-99 .2)
Ref
Abbreviations: +, numb er of positive anima ls; n, numb er of sam ples; 95 % CI, 95 % confidence interval; OR, odds ratio
Prevalence of Cattle Anaplasmosis associated with identified
tick species
There is no significant (p= 0.149) association between identified tick
species in the study area and presence of Anaplasmosis (table 2).
Table 2: Prevalence of Cattle Anaplasmosis associated with identified
tick species.
Tick species
+/n
Prevalence%
95%CI:
R.pulchellus
14/23
60.9
38.5-80.1
Mixed R. pulchellus
with others
4/23
17.4
5.0-38.8
A.lepidium
2/23
8.7
1.1-28.0
A. gemma
2/23
8.7
1.1-28.0
mixed with other
species
1/23
4.3
0.1-22.0
P-value
0.149
DISCUSSION:
Anaplasma infection in Cattle is common in world-wide. However,
determination of its prevalence is important to inform herd health
management in both beef and dairy farms. In the current study
microscopic technique was used to determine the prevalence of Cattle
Anaplasmosis in Lower shabelle region, Somalia. The overall

Aamir Muse Osman, Kalthoum Moallim Yusuf, Abdalla Mohamed Ibrahim- Prevalence
of Anaplasma Infection and Some Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle
Region, Somalia
EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEA RCH - Vol. VIII, Issue 6 / September 2020
3286
prevalence was 72.4%, this study was similar those reported [10, 11,
12, 13]. Contrary, this study is higher than study reported by Heuer et
al., (1990a) [7]. These differences may be caused by different sampling
times, sampling strategies and locations.
The highest prevalence of Cattle Anaplasmosis recorded in
Awdhegle, flowed by walaweyn and the lowest was Afgoye. This
difference was not statistically significant (P= 0.069). The explanation
behind this may be the famers lack of knowledge of the tick control
steps, mixing species rearing may be another possible factor, in
addition to this free movement of animals, the use of infected needles
and other invasive tools by non-professional workers may disrupt the
dynamics of the disease in the study district.
Anaplasma spp of higher prevalence was observed among
younger cattle compared to older cattle, in accordance with Swai et al.,
( 2005) [8]. However, in contrast, Atif et al., (2013) [14] indicated that
the seroprevalence of Anaplasma spp. increased with age. The
explanation is the older animals are required to develop antibody titers
over prolonged periods of exposure. Based on sex of the animal, Male
animals showed high prevalence 87.5% than female 71.4% in this study
similar findings have been reported by Sajid et al., (2009) [15] and
Farooqi et al., (2018) [16].
Anaplasma spp ha an insignificantly higher prevalence in
cattle infested with tick compared to those not infested it can be due to
the fact that ticks are the main vector responsible for the parasite
transmission [17].
This study established insignificant association of
Anaplasmosis positive with the body condition of the study animals.
Similar observation has been reported by other scholars [18, 19]. This
difference may be attributable to the fact that animals with poor body
condition have lower immunity which allows various organism such as
Anaplasma spp to infect.
In conclusion, this study indicates that anaplasmosis is
endemic among cattle in the study region. This data gives useful
information about the epidemiology of parasite in the country . In
making government policies for the prevention and c ontrol of the
parasite for profitable cattle farming, the information contained in this
study is crucial as the country moves towards self-sufficiency in
livestock production. Additional studies are necessary to evaluate other

Aamir Muse Osman, Kalthoum Moallim Yusuf, Abdalla Mohamed Ibrahim- Prevalence
of Anaplasma Infection and Some Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle
Region, Somalia
EUROPEAN ACADEMIC RESEA RCH - Vol. VIII, Issue 6 / September 2020
3287
regions of the country to know the pattern of disease distribution
precisely and carefully.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Dr. Ahmed A. Hassan-Kadle, Dr. Abdulkarim
A. Yusuf and Abrar University for their support to carry out this work.
Funding
Not applicable
Conflicts of interest
Authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. The authors contributed
equally to this work.
Ethics approval
This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethical Committee of Abrar
University, Somalia (reference number AU/ARTC/EC/04/2017).
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of Anaplasma Infection and Some Associated Risk Factors in Lower Shabelle
Region, Somalia
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