An epidemiological survey of equine piroplasmosis in donkeys and horses in Malawi

IF 1.4 Q3 PARASITOLOGY

Veterinary parasitology, regional studies and reports Pub Date : 2025-07-11 DOI:10.1016/j.vprsr.2025.101315

Elisha Chatanga , Believe Ahedor , Berdikulov Atabek , Henson Kainga , Thoko Kapalamula , Tinotenda Razemba , Ryo Nakao , Nariaki Nonaka , Thillaiampalam Sivakumar , Naoaki Yokoyama

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by Theileria equi, Theileria haneyi, and Babesia caballi in equids, such as horses, donkeys, mules, and zebras. A comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of T. equi and B. caballi is vital for EP management. The present study surveyed T. equi and B. caballi infections in donkeys and horses in Malawi. Blood samples were collected from 185 equines, including 178 donkeys in Lilongwe (n = 136) and Dedza (n = 42) districts, and seven horses in Lilongwe district. The blood samples were used to measure hematocrit values and prepare thin smears and blood spots on FTA cards. Microscopic examination of the blood smears detected T. equi in 91 equines (49.2 %), including 88 donkeys (49.4 %) and three horses (42.9 %), while B. caballi was not detected. Screening of DNA samples extracted from FTA cards with species-specific PCR assays detected T. equi in 156 (84.3 %) equines, including 152 (85.4 %) donkeys and four (57.1 %) horses, whereas all animals were negative for B. caballi. We found that the mean hematocrit value of infected donkeys (28.1 %) was significantly lower (P value = 0.0004) than that of uninfected donkeys (31.9 %). Additional analysis of T. equi-positive DNAs with the genotype-specific PCR assays detected all five genotypes (A, B, C, D, and E) in donkeys and four genotypes (A, B, C, and D) in horses. In summary, the present study, the first to report the T. equi infection in Malawi, suggests the need for EP control due to its potential clinical significance.

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马拉维驴和马螺形体病流行病学调查

马螺浆虫病（EP）是一种蜱传疾病，由马、驴、骡子和斑马等马科动物中的马、哈尼伊和巴贝斯虫引起。全面了解马弓形虫和卡巴利弓形虫的流行病学对EP的管理至关重要。本研究调查了马拉维驴和马的马弓形虫和卡巴利杆菌感染情况。采集了185匹马的血液样本，包括利隆圭县（136匹）和德扎县（42匹）的178头驴，以及利隆圭县的7匹马。血液样本用于测量红细胞压积值，并在FTA卡上制备薄涂片和血斑。镜检血涂片检出91匹马（49.2%），其中驴88匹（49.4%），马3匹（42.9%），未检出caballi。用物种特异性PCR方法对FTA卡提取的DNA样本进行筛选，发现156匹马（84.3%）携带马弓形虫，其中包括152匹驴（85.4%）和4匹马（57.1%），而所有动物的caballi呈阴性。结果发现，感染毛驴的平均血细胞压积值（28.1%）显著低于未感染毛驴的平均血细胞压积值（31.9%）（P值= 0.0004）。另外，通过基因型特异性PCR分析，在驴身上检测到所有5种基因型（A、B、C、D和E），在马身上检测到4种基因型（A、B、C和D）。总之，本研究首次报道了马拉维马弓形虫感染，由于其潜在的临床意义，提示需要控制EP。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Veterinary parasitology, regional studies and reports Multiple-

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

7.10%

发文量

126

审稿时长

97 days

期刊介绍： Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports focuses on aspects of veterinary parasitology that are of regional concern, which is especially important in this era of climate change and the rapid and often unconstrained travel of people and animals. Relative to regions, this journal will accept papers of the highest quality dealing with all aspects of disease prevention, pathology, treatment, epidemiology, and control of parasites within the field of veterinary medicine. Also, case reports will be considered as they add to information related to local disease and its control; such papers must be concise and represent appropriate medical intervention. Papers on veterinary parasitology from wildlife species are acceptable, but only if they relate to the practice of veterinary medicine. Studies on vector-borne bacterial and viral agents are suitable, but only if the paper deals with vector transmission of these organisms to domesticated animals. Studies dealing with parasite control by means of natural products, both in vivo and in vitro, are more suited for one of the many journals that now specialize in papers of this type. However, due to the regional nature of much of this research, submissions may be considered based upon a case being made by the author(s) to the Editor. Circumstances relating to animal experimentation must meet the International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals as issued by the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (obtainable from: Executive Secretary C.I.O.M.S., c/o W.H.O., Via Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland).