Risk assessment of animal exposure to African trypanosomosis and tick-borne diseases in southwest Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, tsetse flies, ticks and the diseases they spread, create a serious threat to animal health. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess the risk of tick-borne illnesses and African Animal Trypanosomosis exposure to animals in the southwest of Burkina Faso. The study combined parasitological and entomological investigations. Samples of ticks and blood were collected from 228 domestic ruminants. Biconical traps were used to catch tsetse flies and were placed in favorable sites along the Bougouriba River over a period of 3 days. Hematocrits were determined and different endoparasites were screened using the buffy coat and blood smear methods. Hyalomma marginatum rufipes accounted for 84% of the seven tick species that were found. There were no anemic animal species. Anaplasma (A.) marginale was the most common tick-borne pathogen in Bougouba, with a prevalence of 35.90% (p = 0.00006). Additionally, there was just one A. centrale case reported in Kpedia. A co-infection (A. marginale + Babesia bovis) was observed in Obro. Two species of Trypanosoma were identified: Trypanosoma (T.) vivax (0.4%) and T. congolense (5.3%). Also G. palpalis gambiensis was captured with an apparent density of 3.33 tsetse flies per day per trap. These results show the risks of animal exposure to trypanosomosis and tick-borne diseases in the southwest of Burkina Faso, and control measures against these diseases and their vectors are necessary to ensure animal production.