International Journal of Zoological Research1811-97781811-9786Academic Journals Inc.10.3923/ijzr.2018.30.36Daria ALanaziAbdullah AbdullahSwaid HelpsChris WallRichard PuschendorfRobert ALHarbiSamir Abdelkreem Abdel-ShafySobhy ShaapanRaafat Mohamed 12018141Background and Objectives: Domestic animals, including camels, in Saudi Arabia suffer from various diseases, among which tick-borne infections are important because they reduce the productivity of these animals. However, knowledge of tick-borne pathogens in camels in Saudi Arabia is very limited, so the aims of this study were to quantify the abundance and distribution of tick species infesting camels from different districts of Riyadh province and use molecular tools to detect tick-borne pathogens in both the ticks and blood samples. Materials and Methods: A total of 218 ticks were collected from 116 camels from the 5 districts of Riyadh. The ticks and camel blood samples were analyzed for Borrelia, Babesia and Theileria pathogens using conventional and real-time PCR. Results: The results showed that five different tick species were identified. Majority of the ticks were Hyalomma dromedarii (70.6%), which were collected from camels in all 5 districts. This was followed by Hyalomma impeltatum species (25.2%), which was again found in all the districts. The other species found were Hyalomma anatolicum, Haemaphysalis sp. and Rhipicephalus turanicus. The only one H. dromedarii tick was positive for Theileria sp. DNA. Although the sample size and the area of tick collection were limited, the data suggest that the prevalence of pathogens in the Riyadh province, Saudi Arabia is relatively low. Conclusion: The study provides useful preliminary data to inform future full-scale country-wide surveys.]]>Sonenshine, D.E.,1991Vol. 1.Pages: 447Pages: 447Parola, P. and D. Raoult,200132897928Orkun, O., Z. Karaer, A. Cakmak and S. Nalbantoglu,20142014El Imam, A.H. and K.M. Taha,2015Theileria lestoquardi): A review.]]>8165174Jabbar, A., T. Abbas, H.A. Saddiqi, M.F. Qamar and R.B. Gasser,20152015Rabana, J.L., H.A. Kumshe, J. Kamani, G. Hafsat, U.A. Turaki and H.K. Dilli,201125963Schwartz, H.J. and M. Dioli,1992Pages: 282Pages: 282Wilson, R.T., A. Araya and A. Melaku,19981998Snow, D.H., A.M. Billah, A. Ridha, M. Frigg and W.R. Allen,19921992pp: 335338Saker, L., K. Lee, B. Cannito, A. Gilmore and D.H. Campbell-Lendrum,20042004Diab, F.M., M.S. Al-Khalifa, N.A. Al-Asgah, H.S. Hussein and G.A. Khalil,200622233243Al-Khalifa, M.S., H.S. Hussein, F.M. Diab and G.M. Khalil,2009166367Hoogstraal, H. and J.K.H. Wilde,19781978Hoogstraal, H.,197915307417Al-Asgah, N.A., H.S. Hussein, M.S. Al-Khalifa and F.M. Diab,1985Hyalomma schulzei (the large camel tick): Distribution in Saudi Arabia.]]>22230231Diab, F.M., M.S. Al-Khalifa, H.S. Hussein and N.A. Al-Asgah,1987B5273286Ismael, A.B., A.A. Swelum, A.F. Khalaf and M.A. Abouheif,2014Camelus dromedaries) in Saudi Arabia.]]>34209213Bahrami, S., M.R. Tabandeh and A.R.G. Tafreshi,2017Camelus dromedaries).]]>4810261030Mohammed, A.A., A. Sharma, M.A.M. Saied, O.H. Osman, M.H. Al-Balowi, D.A. Salih and L.D. Singla,2017323940El Kammah, K.M., L.M.I. Oyoun, G.A. El Kady and S.A. Shafy,200131365371Hassan, M.I., H.S.M. Gabr, S. Abdel-Shafy, K.M. Hammad and M.M. Mokhtar,2017Theileria annulata infesting the one-humped camels in Giza, Egypt.]]>47425432Hussein, H.S., N.A. Al-Asgah, M.S. Al-Khalifa and F.M. Diab,19919143160Mostafa, O.M.S. and S.B. Dajem,2014Babesia bovis and B. bigemina in animals slaughtered in Abha and Khamis Mushait abattoirs, Aseer, Saudi Arabia, using PCR assay.]]>512331237Helmy, N.,2000Ornithodoros (O.) savignyi and prevalence of infection with Borrelia spirochetes in Egypt.]]>30607619Hassan, M.I., H.S.M. Gabr, S. Abdel-Shafy, K.M. Hammad and M.M. Mokhtar,2017Borrelia sp. in Ornithodoros savignyi and Rhipicephalus annulatus by flab gene and Babesia bigemina in R. annulatus by 18S rRNA gene.]]>47403414Estrada-Pena, A., A. Bouattour, J.L. Camicas and A.R. Walker,20041st Edn.,Pages: 131Pages: 131Davies, C.R., L.D. Jones and P.A. Nuttall,1990Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Amblyomma variegatum.]]>4399103Abdullah, S., C. Helps, S. Tasker, H. Newbury and R. Wall,2018Borrelia and Babesia species in ticks feeding on dogs in the UK.]]>321422Al-Khalifa, M.S., H.S. Hussein, N.A. Al-Asgah and F.M. Diab,19875301319Al-Khalifa, M.S., F.M. Diab and G.M. Khalil,20072818641867Elghali, A. and S.M. Hassan,2009Camelus dromedaries) in Northern Sudan.]]>76177185Salim abadi, Y., Z. Telmadarraiy, H. Vatandoost, S. Chinikar and M.A. Oshaghi et al,201046671Nazifi, S., A. Tamadon, M.A. Behzadi, S. Haddadi and A.R. Raayat-Jahromi,2012Camelus dromedaries) hard ticks infestation in Qeshm Island, Iran.]]>2135138Fard, S.R.N., S. Fathi, E.N. Asl, H.A. Nazhad and S.S. Kazeroni,2012Camelus dromedarius) and their seasonal population dynamics in Southeast, Iran.]]>44197200Al-Khalifa, M.S. and F.M. Diab,198617151157Hoogstraal, H. and M.N. Kaiser,195939297322Hoogstraal, H., H.Y. Wassef and W. Buttiker,19811981pp: 25-110pp: 25-110Lane, R.S., J. Piesman and W. Burgdorfer,199136587609Alsarraf, M., E.J. Mierzejewska, E.M. Mohallal, J.M. Behnke and A. Bajer,2017Babesia behnkei.]]>72415427Al-Deeb, M.A., S.B. Muzaffar, Y.A. Abu-Zeid, M.R. Enan and S. Karim,2015Rickettsia sp. and Theileria annulata in Hyalomma dromedarii (Acari: Ixodidae) ticks in the United Arab Emirates.]]>98135139