PREVALENCE OF EHRLICHIA AND ANAPLASMA SPP. IN TICKS COLLECTED FROM CATTLE AND DEER IN ARKANSAS, USA

Bovine anaplasmosis, caused by Anaplasma marginale, is widespread in cattle in the southeast United States. The pathogen is biologically transmitted by Dermacentor spp. ticks, and mechanically transmitted by biting flies and via fomites. Despite high reported regional seroprevalence, Dermacentor spp. are rare on cattle in the southeast. To identify other putative An. marginale vectors, and to characterize cattle exposure to other tick-borne pathogens, we collected ticks from Arkansas cattle herds in 2020-2022. Recognizing that deer are important hosts for some of the same tick species that parasitize cattle, we also collected ticks from hunter-killed deer in the fall and winter of 2021. Ticks were screened for bacteria in the family Anaplasmataceae using qPCR. Positive samples were further amplified using a PCR assay targeting the groEL gene, and the resulting amplicons were sequenced for identification. A total of 3,794 ticks were collected, the majority of which were Amblyomma americanum. Amblyomma americanum was the most common species on cattle, and Ixodes scapularis was most common on deer. No ticks were positive for An. marginale, though Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected in deer-collected I. scapularis, as well as in a single engorged Am. americanum from cattle. Amblyomma americanum from cattle were infected with Ehrlichia ewingii, Ehrilichia chaffeensis, and Panola Mountain Ehrlichia. Cattle in Arkansas are exposed to several ehrlichial pathogens and may also be exposed to An. phagocytophilum. The importance of these pathogens, particularly Panola Mountain Ehrlichia, in causing cattle disease in Arkansas deserves further study, as does the importance of mechanical transmission of An. marginale in bovine anaplasmosis epidemiology.