Obregón Dasiel, Cabezas-Cruz Alejandro, Armas Yasmani, Silva Jenevaldo B, Fonseca Adivaldo H, André Marcos R, Alfonso Pastor, Oliveira Márcia C S, Machado Rosangela Z, Corona-González Belkis
Universidad Agraria de La Habana, Apartado Postal 18-19, Carretera Tapaste y Autopista Nacional, CP 32700, San José de Las Lajas, Mayabeque, Cuba.
Centro Nacional de Sanidad Agropecuaria, Apartado Postal 10, Carretera de Jamaica y Autopista Nacional, San José de Las Lajas, CP 32700, Mayabeque, Cuba.
Parasitol Res. 2019 Mar;118(3):955-967. doi: 10.1007/s00436-018-06194-6. Epub 2019 Jan 28.
Water buffalo is important livestock in several countries in the Latin American and Caribbean regions. This buffalo species can be infected by tick-borne hemoparasites and remains a carrier of these pathogens which represent a risk of infection for more susceptible species like cattle. Therefore, studies on the epidemiology of tick-borne hemoparasites in buffaloes are required. In this study, the prevalence of Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina, and Anaplasma marginale were determined in water buffalo herds of western Cuba. To this aim, a cross-sectional study covering farms with large buffalo populations in the region was performed. Eight buffalo herds were randomly selected, and blood samples were collected from 328 animals, including 63 calves (3-14 months), 75 young animals (3-5 years), and 190 adult animals (> 5 years). Species-specific nested PCR and indirect ELISA assays were used to determine the molecular and serological prevalences of each hemoparasite, respectively. The molecular and serological prevalence was greater than 50% for the three hemoparasites. Differences were found in infection prevalence among buffalo herds, suggesting that local epidemiological factors may influence infection risk. Animals of all age groups were infected, with a higher molecular prevalence of B. bigemina and A. marginale in young buffalo and calves, respectively, while a stepwise increase in seroprevalence of B. bovis and B. bigemina from calves to adult buffaloes was found. The co-infection by the three pathogens was found in 12% of animals, and when analyzed by pair, the co-infections of B. bovis and B. bigemina, B. bigemina and A. marginale, and B. bovis and A. marginale were found in 20%, 24%, and 26%, respectively, underlying the positive interaction between these pathogens infecting buffaloes. These results provide evidence that tick-borne pathogen infections can be widespread among water buffalo populations in tropical livestock ecosystems. Further studies should evaluate whether these pathogens affect the health status and productive performance of water buffalo and infection risk of these pathogens in cattle cohabiting with buffalo.
水牛是拉丁美洲和加勒比地区多个国家的重要家畜。这种水牛品种可被蜱传播的血液寄生虫感染，并且仍然是这些病原体的携带者，而这些病原体对牛等更易感物种构成感染风险。因此，需要对水牛蜱传播血液寄生虫的流行病学进行研究。在本研究中，测定了古巴西部水牛群中牛巴贝斯虫、双芽巴贝斯虫和边缘无形体的流行率。为此，开展了一项横断面研究，涵盖该地区拥有大量水牛的农场。随机选择了8个水牛群，从328头动物采集血液样本，其中包括63头犊牛（3 - 14个月）、75头青年动物（3 - 5岁）和190头成年动物（>5岁）。分别使用种特异性巢式PCR和间接ELISA检测来确定每种血液寄生虫的分子流行率和血清学流行率。这三种血液寄生虫的分子流行率和血清学流行率均大于50%。在水牛群之间发现了感染流行率的差异，表明当地的流行病学因素可能影响感染风险。所有年龄组的动物均被感染，双芽巴贝斯虫和边缘无形体的分子流行率分别在青年水牛和犊牛中较高，而牛巴贝斯虫和双芽巴贝斯虫的血清学流行率从犊牛到成年水牛呈逐步上升趋势。在12%的动物中发现了三种病原体的共同感染，成对分析时，牛巴贝斯虫和双芽巴贝斯虫、双芽巴贝斯虫和边缘无形体以及牛巴贝斯虫和边缘无形体的共同感染分别为20%、24%和26%，这表明这些感染水牛的病原体之间存在正向相互作用。这些结果证明，蜱传播病原体感染在热带家畜生态系统的水牛种群中可能广泛存在。进一步的研究应评估这些病原体是否影响水牛的健康状况和生产性能，以及与水牛同居的牛感染这些病原体的风险。
