Koret School of Veterinary Medicine, The Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, POB 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
Vet Parasitol. 2012 Jul 6;187(3-4):558-62. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.01.018. Epub 2012 Jan 17.
The prevalence of Theileria equi infection as well as the environmental and demographic risk factors for infection was studied in 590 healthy horses from 46 farms in Israel. The prevalence of T. equi DNA was assessed using a polymerase chain reaction for a segment of the Theileria 18S rRNA gene. The overall prevalence was 26.4% (156/590). There was a significant geographical variation in the prevalence of T. equi infection, ranging from 9.3% (25/270) in the central lowlands to 81.7% (49/60) in the Golan Heights. The prevalence of T. equi infection was found to be significantly associated with management types with more horses with access to pasture being positive. Breed was identified as a risk factor for T. equi infection in a univariate analysis with relatively high infection rates in the Quarter horse and local breeds (41.1% and 36.3% respectively), while ponies and Arabian horses had a relatively low prevalence (10% and 9.1%, respectively). However, since a correlation between geographic location and breed was found, it is difficult to draw definite conclusions regarding this risk factor. Age and gender were not found as risk factors for T. equi infection in this study. The environmental variables that were significantly associated with positivity were relative humidity and minimum land surface temperature at day which both showed negative correlation with T. equi prevalence. In conclusion, Israel was found to be enzootic for T. equi infection, as indicated by the high sub-clinical infection rate, which differed between geographical areas.
本研究旨在调查 46 家以色列农场的 590 匹健康马感染泰勒虫（Theileria equi）的流行情况以及感染的环境和人口统计学风险因素。使用聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测 Theileria 18S rRNA 基因片段评估 T. equi DNA 的流行情况。总感染率为 26.4%（156/590）。T. equi 感染的流行存在显著的地理差异，从中央低地的 9.3%（25/270）到戈兰高地的 81.7%（49/60）不等。T. equi 感染的流行与管理类型显著相关，更多可接触牧场的马匹呈阳性。在单变量分析中，品种被确定为 T. equi 感染的风险因素，其中夸特马和本地品种的感染率相对较高（分别为 41.1%和 36.3%），而小型马和阿拉伯马的感染率相对较低（分别为 10%和 9.1%）。然而，由于发现地理位置和品种之间存在相关性，因此很难就这一风险因素得出明确的结论。在本研究中，年龄和性别未被发现是 T. equi 感染的风险因素。与阳性结果显著相关的环境变量是相对湿度和日间最低地面温度，两者均与 T. equi 流行呈负相关。总之，以色列被发现是 T. equi 感染的地方性流行地区，其亚临床感染率较高，且在不同地区存在差异。
