Molecular Identification of and Infections in Livestock in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau Area, China.

The northwestern region of China, known as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau Area (QTPA), is characterized by unique climate conditions that support the breeding of various highly-adapted livestock species. Tick vectors play a significant role in transmitting and species, posing serious risks to animal health as well as the economy of animal husbandry in QTPA. A total of 366 blood samples were collected from Tibetan sheep ( = 51), goats ( = 67), yaks ( = 43), cattle ( = 49), Bactrian camels ( = 50), horses ( = 65), and donkeys ( = 40). These samples were examined using conventional and nested PCR techniques to detect and species. The overall infection rates were 0.3% (1/366) for spp. and 38.2% (140/366) for spp. Notably, neither nor species were detected in donkeys and yaks. The infection rates of and species among animals in different prefectures were significantly different ( < 0.05). Furthermore, , , , and were not detected in the current study. To our knowledge, this is the first documented detection of infection in Bactrian camels and goats, as well as in cattle and in horses on the Qinghai plateau. These novel findings shed light on the distribution of and species among livestock species in QTPA.