Moaz M. Amer

Tick‐borne rickettsiosis has posed a significant threat to Egypt, with various pathogenic Rickettsia species being reported. In this study, 134 ticks were collected from camels in Esna City, Luxor, Egypt and all were identified as Hyalomma dromedarii through both morphological and molecular techniques. Using specific primers targeting the citrate synthase ( gltA ), outer membrane protein A ( ompA ) and 17 kD antigen (17 kDa) genes, Rickettsia japonica was detected via conventional and nested PCR assays. Remarkably, two samples tested positive for R. japonica across all three genes, indicating a prevalence of 1.5%. Phylogenetic analysis based on the gltA , ompA and 17 kDa genes confirmed the presence of R. japonica within H. dromedarii ticks. This is the first reported detection of R. japonica in Egypt. These findings highlight the urgent need to investigate the origin and spread of R. japonica in the country and underscore the importance of continuous surveillance and data collection on lesser‐known pathogens circulating in ticks as part of Egypt's public health efforts to manage tick‐borne diseases.

Strongylid and non-strongylid nematodes are one of the most important parasites infecting equines. The traditional method to identify these nematodes is through coproscopy and fecal culture. Because of the scarcity of data published in Egypt discussing the morphometric features of infective 3^rd larvae of these nematodes, this study aims to provide a morphometric key for L3 of common strongylid and non-strongylid nematodes infecting Egyptian equines. For this reason, we cultured fecal samples containing GINs eggs and 3^rd larval stages were identified based on their morphology (i.e., shape and number of intestinal cells (IC), shape of the esophagus, and shape of the tail sheath) in addition to computing their dimensions (i.e., length of larvae with sheath, length of the esophagus, length of intestinal cells, and body breadth). We identified 3^rd larval stages of four strongylid nematodes (Cyathostomumsensulato, Strongylus vulgaris, Strongylus equinus, and Strongylus edentatus) as well as two non-strongylid nematodes (Strongyloides westeri, and Trichostrongylus axei). Statistically, our results revealed significant differences in terms of total length, body width, esophagus length, and gut length among 3^rd larvae identified in the current study. The combination of both morphological and metric keys will allow the better identification of common strongylid and non-strongylid nematodes infecting equines.