Molecular Detection of Tick-Borne Bacterial and Protozoan Pathogens in (Acari: Ixodidae) Ticks from Free-Ranging Domestic Sheep in Hebei Province, China.

Ticks and tick-borne pathogens significantly threaten human and animal health worldwide. is one of the dominant tick species in East Asia, including China. In the present study, 646 ticks were collected from free-ranging domestic sheep in the southern region of Hebei Province, China. Tick-borne pathogens of zoonotic and veterinary importance (i.e., , , , , , and spp.) were detected in the ticks using PCR assays and sequence analysis. The prevalence rates of these pathogens were 5.1% (33/646), 15.9% (103/646), 1.2% (8/646), 17.0% (110/646), 0.15% (1/646), and 0.15% (1/646), respectively. For spp., ( = 13), ( = 6), and R. jingxinensis ( = 14) were detected for the first time in the province, while several spp. were also detected in the ticks, including ( = 52), ( = 31), ( = 10), and ( = 10). A putative novel spp. was also found with a prevalence of 1.2% in the area. The present study provides important data for effectively controlling ticks and tick-borne diseases in the Hebei Province region of China.