Veterinary Parasitology 196 (2013) 13–20 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Veterinary Parasitology jo u r nal homep age: www.elsevier.com/locate/vetpar Molecular survey of bovine vector-borne pathogens in Cebu, Philippines Adrian Patalinghug Yba ˜ nez a,b , Thillaiampalam Sivakumar c , Rochelle Haidee Daclan Yba ˜ nez c , Mary Rose Bahian Vincoy d , Jocelyn Acido Tingson e , Zandro Obligado Perez f , Shirleny Reyes Gabotero f , Lyra Paglinawan Buchorno e , Noboru Inoue c , Kotaro Matsumoto a , Hisashi Inokuma a,b , Naoaki Yokoyama b,c,∗ a Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan b United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu 501-1193, Japan c National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan d Office of the Provincial Veterinarian, Province of Cebu, Cebu City 6000, Philippines e College of Veterinary Medicine, Southwestern University-Basak Campus, Pardo, Cebu City 6000, Philippines f GPY Veterinare Animale – Group of Veterinary Clinics, Cebu City 6000, Philippines a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 7 December 2012 Received in revised form 11 February 2013 Accepted 17 February 2013 Keywords: Anaplasma Babesia Cattle The Philippines Theileria Trypanosoma a b s t r a c t Vector-borne diseases (VBDs) continue to threaten the worldwide livestock industry, but comprehensive epidemiological surveys on such diseases have not been conducted in the Philippines. In the present study, we screened 408 bovine blood samples from 9 areas in Cebu, Philippines, for various VBD pathogens using specific PCR assays. The results revealed prevalences of 54.7, 15.4, 10.0, and 12.0% for Anaplasma spp., Babesia bigemina, Babesia bovis, and Trypanosoma (Tr.) theileri, respectively. In contrast, none of the samples were positive for Trypanosoma (Tr.) evansi, Theileria (Th.) orientalis, and Theileria (Th.) annulata. Mixed infections were observed in 24.2% of the samples tested. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the Anaplasma spp. sequences from the present study were genetically close either to Anaplasma marginale or Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In addition, B. bovis RAP-1 and Babesia bigemina AMA-1 gene sequences were identical and monophyletic to other known B. bovis and B. bigemina sequences. On the other hand, Tr. theileri cathepsin-L like protein gene sequences shared 97.1–100% identities with those from the USA and Brazil and clustered within a single genotype in the phylogenetic tree. The molecular identification of several VBD pathogens in Cebu cattle calls for the implementation of control measures to prevent the spread of these pathogens to nearby localities or islands, and ultimately, economic losses to the Philippine economy. © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ∗ Corresponding author at: National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido 080-8555, Japan. Tel.: +81 155 49 5649; fax: +81 155 49 5643. E-mail address: yokoyama@obihiro.ac.jp (N. Yokoyama). 1. Introduction Vector-borne diseases (VBDs), which include anaplas- mosis, babesiosis, theileriosis, and trypanosomiasis, con- tinue to beset the livestock industry. Bovine anaplas- mosis is caused by rickettsial Gram-negative pathogens, including Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Stuen, 2007) and 0304-4017/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.02.013