Laboratório de Imunoparasitologia, Departamento de Patologia Veterinária, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias FCAV-UNESP, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane s/n, 14884-900 Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil.
Vet Parasitol. 2013 Nov 8;197(3-4):678-81. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.05.020. Epub 2013 Jun 2.
Bovine babesiosis is a tick-borne disease caused mainly by Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina, which are associated to considerable economic losses in cattle herds worldwide. Approximately 60% of buffalo herds in South America are located in Northern Brazil. Little is known about the impact of babesiosis on buffalo herds in Brazil. The present work aimed to verify the occurrence of B. bovis and B. bigemina in 542 water buffaloes in the state of Pará, Northern Brazil, using molecular and serological techniques. The percentage of seropositive animals for B. bovis and B. bigemina was 41.2% and 19.0%, respectively, by ELISA. B. bovis and B. bigemina DNA were detected in 15 and 16% of sampled buffaloes, respectively. A high correlation (Kappa index of 0.9) between serological and molecular tests suggests that the combination of the utilized techniques in the present study is suitable for babesiosis diagnosis in an endemic unstable area. Significantly difference of positivity for serological and molecular assays was verified to localities and reproductive status of sampled animals, but not between buffalo breeds. The immune status of sampled buffaloes associated to the circulation of babesiosis agents in sampled population suggests that the studied area is at risk to clinical babesiosis outbreaks. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that this region can be classified as endemically unstable.
牛巴贝斯虫病是一种由牛巴贝斯虫和双芽巴贝斯虫引起的蜱传疾病，在全球牛群中造成了相当大的经济损失。南美洲约 60%的水牛群位于巴西北部。关于巴西水牛群中巴贝斯虫病的影响知之甚少。本研究旨在使用分子和血清学技术检测巴西帕拉州北部 542 头水牛中是否存在牛巴贝斯虫和双芽巴贝斯虫。ELISA 检测结果显示，牛巴贝斯虫和双芽巴贝斯虫的血清阳性率分别为 41.2%和 19.0%。分别从 15%和 16%的采样水牛中检测到牛巴贝斯虫和双芽巴贝斯虫 DNA。血清学和分子检测之间具有高度相关性（kappa 指数为 0.9），表明本研究中使用的联合技术适用于在地方性不稳定地区进行巴贝斯虫病诊断。对采样动物的地理位置和生殖状态进行了血清学和分子检测阳性率的显著性差异验证，但未在水牛品种之间进行验证。采样水牛的免疫状态与采样人群中巴贝斯虫病病原体的循环情况相关，表明研究区域存在临床巴贝斯虫病爆发的风险。此外，本研究表明该地区可被归类为地方性不稳定。
