Discussion:
Livestock play an important integral role in food, nutritional security
and improvement of the Indian economy
(http://dadf.gov.in/sites/default/filess/Annual%20Report.pdf).
The majority of rural/tribal people are dependent on the livestock
sector for their livelihood, employment, health, and nutritional
security. However, tick borne diseases and lack of timely preventive and
control measures, jeopardize the public health and animal husbandry
sectors. Globally, tick and tick-borne diseases (TTBDs) are prevalent in
80% of the cattle population and the reported economic impact in terms
of production losses is 21.38–28.76 billion US dollars annually
(Manjunathachar et al., 2014; Narladkar, 2018). Madhya Pradesh is a
tribal dominant state adjoining with three CCHF outbreak states
(Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh), rich in bio-diversity and humid
subtropical climate favors higher tick activity. The population is
mainly involved in agricultural, animal husbandry and forest-related
activities. Since, the CCHF is an incidental disease, the constant
interaction between wild, domestic animals and humans, increase the
chances of spillover of pathogens. Studies are reported that the
outbreak of CCHF is directly correlated with an increase in invertebrate
host and ticks population above the maintenance level (Spengler et al.,
2017). The present study clearly shows the higher prevalence of CCHF IgG
antibodies in animals compare to earlier study reported by Mourya et al.
(2015) of 4.7% (7/150) in bovines and 7.5% (3/40) sheep/goat. This
finding suggested that, CCHFV is circulating in an unnoticed, amplified
manner in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, Central India, which is also endemic
for malaria and other arbo-viral hemorrhagic diseases (Singh et al.,
2014). Besides, the CCHF signs and symptoms in the initial stage of
illness are very similar with arbo-viral hemorrhagic infections and
create a void in differential diagnosis, clinically. Thus, it is obvious
that, clinicians may not be able to recognize it, and this may pose a
threat to public health as a nosocomial infection (Yadav et al., 2016).
Among the ruminant species studied, the rate of CCHF prevalence is more
in goats compare to cattle. The similar type of finding was observed in
Nepal where 38.2% CCHFV antibodies were recorded in goats and no cattle
sample was found positive (Wangchuk et al., 2016). India having the
second largest goat population in the world and largest exporter of
goat/sheep (18,425 MT in 2018-19) meat to the United Arab Emeritus,
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman countries
(http://apeda.gov.in/apedawebsite/SubHead_Products/Sheep_Goat_Meat.htm).
The high positivity in goats pose risk to the slaughter house workers
and animal handlers and act as a vehicle for diseases transmission due
to increased trading of small ruminants in the absence of cattle
slaughter in India. Trade in live animals, export of meat and meat
products serve as a mobile pool for diseases like CCHF and pose threat
to national economy. Hence, it necessitates the importance of improved
time to time surveillance against emerging viral pathogens.
Amongst number of hemo-protozoan parasitic infections in cattle,
theileriosis accounts huge economic losses due to high mortality,
reduction in milk yield, emaciation as well as high treatment cost
(Narladkar, 2018). Further, impeding the problem is due to
non-availability of data on the prevalence rate and lack of
implementation of control and prevention policies tackle the disease.
Present study revealed the high prevalence rate of 15.9 % for T.
annulata infections in cattle by utilizing cytochrome b gene based PCR.
The present data based on cytochrome b gene, highly sensitive PCR target
will shed light on the occurrence of T. annulata infection and
devising control strategies to detect and eliminate the infection in
tribal dominated regions of Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh. Further,
phylogenetic analysis revealed that, Jabalpur isolates are 100%
nucleotide similarities with North-Indian isolates. Currently,
piroplasmosis is mainly encounter in domestic animals. However, several
zoonotic piroplasmosis cases are reported in humans globally, warrants
the need of active investigations in India, owing to transmission
dynamics in vector tick species, mutations in parasites, lack of
epidemiological data and involvement of wild animals in the ecosystem
(Gabreilli et al., 2014). It is noted that, the examined animals are
non-descript and cross breeds and they possess high rate of tick
infestations. Based on the geographical evidences, it is owing due to
grazing of animals in the buffer zones of forest region where, the
amplifying host like small vertebrates (hares, hedgehogs) harbor high
rate of immature ticks (Brown, 1997). Further, lack of insecticide usage
in these regions may help in maintenance of enzootic-tick-vertebrate
cycle in field condition. Hand picking and crushing of the ticks, pose a
serious risk to the farmers and treating ill patients in resource poor
health facilities at village level pose a risk to the medical staff. So,
detection of CCHFV antibodies in domestic animals in the study, shed
light on the possible hotspots for the localization of CCHFV foci,
evidences for virus circulation and highlights the potential risk for
human infection. This is the high time to elucidate the factors involved
in increasing the prevalence rate over a while and /or studies on any
circulation of low pathogenic strains in this region. Although our
findings provide sufficient serologic and molecular proof for the
occurrence of CCHFV and theileriosis infections respectively, among
domestic ruminants in Jabalpur region, because there is no vaccine
currently available against CCHF disease, however suffers due to lack of
risk group’s immune status against CCHF infection.