Patterns of parasite infection in the African elephant populations in Kenya

Resumen

In this thesis helmint infection patterns, Amblyomma tholloni phylogeography and genetic structure and the molecular characterization of Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Babesia and Theileria in African elephants have been studied. There was a higher prevalence of nematodes than trematodes. Tick genetic analysis revealed low genetic differentiation between regions. The molecular identification of Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Babesia and Theileria in elephants and ticks showed that these animals were infected with a novel Babesia spp. while A. thollonii was infected with Theileria bicornis and Theileria cf. velifera. The prevalence of Babesia spp., Theileria spp. and Ehrlichia spp. in ticks was higher than in their hosts.