Molecular Detection of Theileria ovis, Anaplasma ovis, and Rickettsia spp. in Rhipicephalus turanicus and Hyalomma anatolicum Collected from Sheep in Southern Xinjiang, China

The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang) borders eight countries and has a complex geographic environment. There are almost 45.696 million herded sheep in Xinjiang, which occupies 13.80% of China's sheep farming industry. However, there is a scarcity of reports investigating the role of sheep or ticks in Xinjiang in transmitting tick-borne diseases (TBDs). A total of 894 ticks (298 tick pools) were collected from sheep in southern Xinjiang. Out of the 298 tick pools investigated in this study, <i>Rhipicephalus turanicus</i> (<i>Rh. turanicus</i>) and <i>Hyalomma anatolicum</i> (<i>H. anatolicum</i>) were identified through morphological and molecular sequencing. In the southern part of Xinjiang, 142 (47.65%), 86 (28.86%), and 60 (20.13%) tick pools were positive for <i>Rickettsia</i> spp., <i>Theileria</i> spp., and <i>Anaplasma</i> spp., respectively. Interestingly, the infection rate of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp. (73%, 35.10%, and 28.56-41.64%) was higher in <i>Rh. turanicus</i> pools than in <i>H. anatolicum</i> pools (4%, 4.44%, and 0.10-8.79%) in this study. Fifty-one tick pools were found to harbor two pathogens, while nineteen tick pools were detected to have the three pathogens. Our findings indicate the presence of <i>Rickettsia</i> spp., <i>Theileria</i> spp., and <i>Anaplasma</i> spp. potentially transmitted by <i>H. anatolicum</i> and <i>Rh. turanicus</i> in sheep in southern Xinjiang, China.