Department of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, State University of Santa Cruz - UESC, Soane Nazaré de Andrade Campus, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil.
Department of Animal Parasitology, Rural Federal University of Rio de Janeiro-UFRRJ, Seropédica, RJ, Brazil.
Parasit Vectors. 2021 May 22;14(1):275. doi: 10.1186/s13071-021-04777-4.
Currently, various zoonotic diseases are classified as emerging or reemerging. Because equids have a direct relationship with various vectors, they are possibly more frequently exposed to zoonotic agents than are humans. The undeniable importance of diseases such as human granulocytic anaplasmosis, spotted fever, and leishmaniasis for both public and animal health, as well as the possibility of equids acting as sources, reservoirs, or even sentinels for these pathogens, justifies the detection of their frequency and factors associated with infection in equids from northeastern Brazil.
Blood samples were collected from 569 equids (528 horses, 33 donkeys, and 8 mules), 516 from a rural area and 53 from an urban area. Pathogen detection was carried out as follows: Borrelia spp. and Rickettsia spp., serological analysis; Leishmania spp., serological analysis and polymerase chain reaction (PCR); Anaplasma phagocytophilum, PCR. Determination of associated factors was carried out through generalized linear models.
The frequencies of positivity for the pathogens observed in equids were as follows: Borrelia spp., 13.9% (79/569); Leishmania spp., 3.5% (20/569); Rickettsia spp. 33.4% (190/569). Regarding factors associated with infection, male sex was associated with protection against Borrelia spp.; donkeys and mules were associated with protection against Rickettsia spp., while a younger age was a risk factor. The infection of A. phagocytophilum was not detected in the sampled population. Co-infection was detected in 5.1% (29/569) of the animals.
Most of the studied pathogenic agents are present in the prospected area, indicating a possible risk for both human and animal health. This demonstrates that equids can be considered important sentinels in the assessment of pathogens with zoonotic potential in the region.
目前，各种人畜共患病被归类为新发或再现。由于马科动物与各种媒介物有直接关系，它们可能比人类更容易接触到人畜共患病原体。人类粒细胞无形体病、斑疹热和利什曼病等疾病对公共卫生和动物卫生的重要性是不可否认的，以及马科动物作为这些病原体的来源、储存库甚至哨兵的可能性，证明了检测这些病原体在巴西东北部马科动物中的频率和感染相关因素是合理的。
采集了 569 匹马科动物（528 匹马、33 头驴和 8 头骡子）的血液样本，其中 516 份来自农村地区，53 份来自城市地区。病原体检测如下进行：螺旋体属和立克次体属，血清学分析；利什曼原虫属，血清学分析和聚合酶链反应（PCR）；无形体属，PCR。通过广义线性模型进行相关因素的确定。
在马科动物中观察到的病原体阳性率如下：螺旋体属，13.9%（79/569）；利什曼原虫属，3.5%（20/569）；立克次体属，33.4%（190/569）。关于感染相关因素，雄性与对螺旋体属的保护有关；驴和骡子与对立克次体属的保护有关，而年龄较小则是一个风险因素。在所采样的人群中未检测到无形体属的感染。5.1%（29/569）的动物检测到混合感染。
研究中大多数致病性病原体都存在于预期区域，表明这对人类和动物健康都存在潜在风险。这表明马科动物可以被认为是评估该地区具有人畜共患潜力的病原体的重要哨兵。
