Tick-borne zoonotic agents infecting horses from an urban area in Midwestern Brazil: epidemiological and hematological features

AbstractThe emergence of tick-borne diseases has been reported as a serious problem in public health worldwide and many aspects of its epidemiology and effects on the health of its hosts are unclear. We aimed to perform an epidemiological study of tick-borne zoonoticRickettsia,Borrelia, and Anaplasmataceae in horses from Midwestern Brazil. We also evaluated whetherBorrelia spp. and Anaplasmataceae may be associated with hematological disorders in the sampled animals. Blood and serum samples as well as ticks were collected from 262 horses. Serum samples were used to perform serological tests, and hematological analyses were made using whole blood. Furthermore, DNA extracted from whole blood and ticks was used for molecular tests. Campo Grande is enzootic for tick-borne studied bacteria, since we found an overall exposure of 59.9% of the sampled horses, 28.7% of them presented co-exposure. Seropositivity rates of 20.6% forBorrelia spp., 25.6% forRickettsia spp., and 31.6% for Anaplasmataceae were found in the sampled horses. Considering both molecular and serological tests forBorrelia spp., the infection rate was 48.0% (126/262). None of the tested horses showed molecular positivity forAnaplasma phagocytophilum. The horses sampled displayed 7.2% of parasitism by ixodid ticks in single and coinfestations. We did not find DNA of any studied bacteria in the sampled ticks. Positive horses forBorrelia spp. and Anaplasmataceae agents displayed leukopenia, monocytopenia, and lymphopen...
Source: Tropical Animal Health and Production - Category: Veterinary Research Source Type: research