Tick-borne pathogens in golden jackals (Canis aureus) from Armenia

Golden jackals ( Canis aureus ) are expanding their range across Europe and Western Asia, frequently inhabiting agricultural and peri-urban areas where they interface with humans and domestic animals. The aim of this study was to assess their potential role as reservoirs for tick-borne pathogens in Armenia, Transcaucasia. Between August 2024 and May 2025, blood samples were collected from 30 golden jackals across four administrative regions of Armenia (Armavir, Ararat, Vayots Dzor, and Syunik). PCR followed by reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization was employed to simultaneously screen for bacterial and protistan pathogens, including Anaplasma, Borrelia , Ehrlichia and Rickettsia , and Babesia and Theileria species. Four zoonotic bacterial pathogens were detected: Rickettsia helvetica (36.7%, 95% CI: 19.9–56.1%), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (10.0%, 95% CI: 2.1–26.5%), Rickettsia raoultii (6.7%, 95% CI: 0.8–22.1%), and Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis (3.3%, 95% CI: 0.1–17.2%). Co-infections were detected in 45.5% of the pathogen-positive samples, including one triple co-infection with R. helvetica , B. burgdorferi s. s. , and Ca. N. mikurensis. A statistically significant association was observed between R. helvetica and B. burgdorferi s.s. (p = 0.041). Given the small sample size (n = 30), differences between demographic groups or geographic regions have limited explanatory power, but females showed numerically higher infection rates than males (50.0% vs. 28.0%, p = 0.142). This study provides the first molecular evidence of tick-borne pathogens in golden jackals from Transcaucasia, establishing them as potential reservoir hosts for zoonotic pathogens with One Health significance.