Ahedor Believe, Kothalawala Hemal, Kanagaratnam Ratnam, Vimalakumar Singarayar Caniciyas, Otgonsuren Davaajav, Tuvshintulga Bumduuren, Batmagnai Enkhbaatar, Silva Seekkuge Susil Priyantha, Sivakumar Thillaiampalam, Yokoyama Naoaki
National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan; Department of Animal Experimentation, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, University of Ghana, Ghana.
Veterinary Research Institute, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
Infect Genet Evol. 2022 Apr;99:105244. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2022.105244. Epub 2022 Feb 9.
Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in equids, including horses, donkeys, zebras, and mules. It is globally endemic with significant economic impact on the equine industry. Infected animals may serve as carriers, and they may be a source of infection for ticks, thereby posing a great challenge for disease management. Sri Lanka is a tropical country, where infections by various tick-borne parasites are common among livestock animals. However, infections by T. equi and B. caballi remain unstudied in Sri Lanka. Therefore, in the present study, we conducted an epidemiological survey to investigate the presence of T. equi and B. caballi in apparently healthy free-roaming donkeys. Blood samples were randomly taken from 111 donkeys in Mannar (n = 100) and Kilinochchi (n = 11) districts in Sri Lanka. Thin blood smears were prepared from the blood samples and subjected to microscopic examination. Additionally, blood DNA samples were prepared and screened for T. equi and B. caballi infections using species-specific PCR assays. Our results showed that 64 (57.7%) and 95 (85.6%) of the donkeys were positive for T. equi by microscopy and PCR, respectively. However, all samples were negative for B. caballi. Phylogenetic analysis of the T. equi 18S rRNA sequences detected two distinct genotypes, namely C and D. To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. equi in Sri Lanka and of genotype C in donkeys. The present study highlights the importance of monitoring the shrinking donkey population in Sri Lanka owing to EP caused by T. equi.
马焦虫病（EP）是一种由马泰勒虫和驽巴贝斯虫引起的蜱传疾病，感染对象包括马、驴、斑马和骡子等马属动物。该病在全球范围内流行，对养马业造成重大经济影响。受感染的动物可能成为携带者，并且可能是蜱虫的感染源，从而给疾病管理带来巨大挑战。斯里兰卡是一个热带国家，各种蜱传寄生虫感染在牲畜中很常见。然而，斯里兰卡尚未对马泰勒虫和驽巴贝斯虫感染进行研究。因此，在本研究中，我们进行了一项流行病学调查，以调查明显健康的自由放养驴中马泰勒虫和驽巴贝斯虫的存在情况。从斯里兰卡马纳尔区（n = 100）和基利诺奇区（n = 11）的111头驴中随机采集血样。从血样制备薄血涂片并进行显微镜检查。此外，制备血DNA样本，并使用种特异性PCR检测法筛查马泰勒虫和驽巴贝斯虫感染。我们的结果显示，通过显微镜检查和PCR检测，分别有64头（57.7%）和95头（85.6%）驴的马泰勒虫呈阳性。然而，所有样本的驽巴贝斯虫均为阴性。对马泰勒虫18S rRNA序列进行系统发育分析，检测到两种不同的基因型，即C型和D型。据我们所知，这是斯里兰卡首次报告马泰勒虫，也是首次在驴中报告C型基因型。本研究强调了监测由于马泰勒虫引起的马焦虫病导致斯里兰卡驴数量减少的重要性。
