National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido, Japan.
Vet Parasitol. 2012 Nov 23;190(1-2):263-7. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2012.05.014. Epub 2012 May 23.
Hemoprotozoan parasites are responsible for significant economic losses in cattle. We screened Sri Lankan cattle populations for the presence of Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina, Theileria annulata, and Theileria orientalis, using species-specific PCR assays. Out of 316 samples collected from animals in four different districts of Sri Lanka (Nuwara Eliya, Polonnaruwa, Ampara, and Jaffna), 231 (73.1%) were positive for at least one parasite species. All four parasite species were detected among the study groups from all of the districts surveyed. The first and second commonest hemoprotozoan parasites identified were T. orientalis (53.5%) and B. bigemina (30.1%), respectively. We found that the dry zones (Polonnaruwa, Ampara, and Jaffna) had more Babesia-positive animals than the hill country wet zone (Nuwara Eliya). In contrast, T. orientalis was the predominant species detected in Nuwara Eliya, while infection with T. annulata was more common in the dry zones. In addition, 81 (35.1%) of the 231 positive samples were infected with more than one parasite species. The presence of multiple parasite species among the different cattle populations is of clinical and economic significance. Therefore, island-wide control and prevention programs against bovine babesiosis and theileriosis are needed to minimize the financial burden caused by these parasites.
血液原生动物寄生虫是导致牛群经济损失的主要原因。我们使用种特异性 PCR 检测方法，对来自斯里兰卡四个不同地区（努瓦拉埃利亚、波隆纳鲁瓦、阿马拉和贾夫纳）的 316 个动物样本进行了牛巴贝斯虫、双芽巴贝斯虫、环形泰勒虫和东方泰勒虫的检测。在采集的 316 个样本中，有 231 个（73.1%）至少对一种寄生虫呈阳性。在所调查的所有地区的研究组中都检测到了这四种寄生虫。确定的第一种和第二种最常见的血液原生动物寄生虫分别是东方泰勒虫（53.5%）和双芽巴贝斯虫（30.1%）。我们发现，干燥地区（波隆纳鲁瓦、阿马拉和贾夫纳）的巴贝斯虫阳性动物比山区湿润地区（努瓦拉埃利亚）多。相比之下，东方泰勒虫是在努瓦拉埃利亚检测到的主要物种，而环形泰勒虫感染在干燥地区更为常见。此外，在 231 个阳性样本中，有 81 个（35.1%）感染了不止一种寄生虫。不同牛群中存在多种寄生虫具有临床和经济意义。因此，需要在全岛范围内开展针对牛巴贝斯虫病和泰勒虫病的控制和预防计划，以最大限度地减少这些寄生虫造成的经济负担。
