Abstract

In this study, we conducted a survey to detect piroplasmid parasites in ticks from goats in Türkiye's Mediterranean region. A total of 127 tick pools, comprising 661 individual ticks representing Rhipicephalus bursa, R. turanicus, R. sanguineus, Hyalomma marginatum and Dermacentor raskamensis, were screened for common caprine piroplasm parasites. DNA was extracted from each pool, and subjected to PCR for the amplification of 18S rRNA gene of Babesia ovis, Babesia aktasi, and Theileria ovis. Infection rates in tick pools were estimated using Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method with 95% confidence intervals. The Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) method was used to calculate infection rates in pooled ticks of varying sizes. Overall, the infection rate for piroplasmid parasites was estimated at 67.15 per 1,000 ticks. The rates varied greatly by species, from 0.03% in D. raskamensis to 71.70% in R. bursa. The most commonly detected parasite was B. ovis, followed by T. ovis. Babesia aktasi was not identified in any of the tick pools. A total of 27 out of 127 tick pools (21.25%) tested positive for B. ovis, with an MLE of 46.86% (95% CI: 31.83-66.79). In contrast, T. ovis was detected in 7 out of 127 pools (5.51with an MLE of 7.67% (95% CI: 2.87-16.84). No piroplasm parasites were detected in R. sanguineus and co-infection with B. ovis and T. ovis was found in 3 out of 127 pools (2.36%), with an MLE of 4.58% (95% CI: 1.21-12.33).