Razmi Gholamreza, Pourhosseini Moslem, Yaghfouri Saeed, Rashidi Ahmad, Seidabadi Mohsen
Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, P.O. Box 91775-1793, Mashhad, Iran.
J Parasitol. 2013 Feb;99(1):77-81. doi: 10.1645/GE-3202.1. Epub 2012 Aug 27.
Theilerioses and babesioses are important diseases in Iranian sheep. The present study was undertaken to identify and classify/specify Theileria spp. and Babesia spp. in sheep and vector ticks. Investigation was carried out from 2009 to 2011 in the Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. In total, 302 sheep originating from 60 different flocks were clinically examined and their blood collected. In addition, from the same flocks, ixodid ticks were sampled. Stained blood smears were microscopically examined for the presence of Theileria and Babesia organisms, and a semi-nested PCR was used for subsequent molecular specification. From the ticks, salivary glands and uterus were isolated and subsequently analyzed by semi-nested PCR. Piroplasm organisms were observed in 29% of the blood smears with low parasitemia, whereas 65% of the blood samples yielded positive PCR findings. The presence of Theileria ovis (55.6%), Theileria lestoquardi, and mixed infection with Theileria spp. and Babesia ovis were detected by semi-nested PCR in 0.3%, 5.6%, and 0.99%, respectively. In total, 429 ixodid ticks were collected from different areas of the province. The most prevalent ticks were Rhipicephalus turanicus (n = 376; 87.6% of the total), followed by Hyalomma marginatum turanicum (n = 30; 7.0%), Dermacentor raskemensis (n = 12; 2.8%), Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum (n = 7; 1.6%), Dermacentor marginatus (n = 2; 0.5%), Rhipicephalus bursa (n = 1; 0.2%), and Haemaphysalis sp. (n = 1; 0.2%). Of the positive R. turanicus samples, 5 (5.7%) were infected with T. ovis and 2 (2.9%) with T. lestoquardi. Neither Babesia ovis nor Babesia motasi infection was detected in salivary glands or uterine samples of the ticks. The results also suggest that R. turanicus could be the vector responsible for transmission of the 2 Theileria species.
泰勒虫病和巴贝斯虫病是伊朗绵羊的重要疾病。本研究旨在鉴定和分类/明确绵羊和媒介蜱中的泰勒虫属和巴贝斯虫属。于2009年至2011年在伊朗霍拉桑拉扎维省开展调查。总共对来自60个不同羊群的302只绵羊进行了临床检查并采集了血液。此外，从同一羊群中采集了硬蜱样本。对染色血涂片进行显微镜检查以检测泰勒虫和巴贝斯虫生物体的存在，并使用半巢式PCR进行后续分子鉴定。从蜱中分离出唾液腺和子宫，随后通过半巢式PCR进行分析。在29%的血涂片中观察到梨形虫生物体，寄生虫血症水平较低，而65%的血液样本PCR检测结果呈阳性。通过半巢式PCR分别检测到绵羊泰勒虫（55.6%）、莱氏泰勒虫以及泰勒虫属和绵羊巴贝斯虫混合感染，比例分别为0.3%、5.6%和0.99%。总共从该省不同地区采集了429只硬蜱。最常见的蜱是图兰扇头蜱（n = 376；占总数的87.6%），其次是边缘璃眼蜱图兰亚种（n = 30；7.0%）、拉斯凯姆革蜱（n = 12；2.8%）、安纳托利亚璃眼蜱安纳托利亚亚种（n = 7；1.6%）、边缘革蜱（n = 2；0.5%）、柏氏扇头蜱（n = 1；0.2%）和血蜱属（n = 1；0.2%）。在阳性的图兰扇头蜱样本中，5只（5.7%）感染了绵羊泰勒虫，2只（2.9%）感染了莱氏泰勒虫。在蜱的唾液腺或子宫样本中未检测到绵羊巴贝斯虫或莫氏巴贝斯虫感染。结果还表明，图兰扇头蜱可能是传播这两种泰勒虫的媒介。
