Immunology and Vaccines Laboratory, Natural Sciences College, Autonomous University of Queretaro, Queretaro, Qro, Mexico.
Programa de Maestría y Doctorado en Ciencias de la Producción y de la Salud Animal, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad de México, México.
PLoS One. 2022 Mar 8;17(3):e0264998. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264998. eCollection 2022.
Equine piroplasmosis is a disease of horses, mules and donkeys, caused by the hemoprotozoans Babesia caballi and Theileria equi and transmitted by ticks of tropical and subtropical regions. Because the clinical signs are not specific, the diagnosis of equine piroplasmosis is difficult. In Mexico, where the environmental factors are conducive to the persistence of these pathogens, there is a lack of molecular studies to evaluate the occurrence of both parasites in horses. In the present study, matching serum and whole blood samples were obtained from 269 horses residing in 24 locations with tropical or subtropical climate and the presence of ticks. Testing of serum samples by ELISA demonstrated 55.7% seroprevalence of B. caballi and 68.4% prevalence of antibodies to T. equi. Blood samples analyzed with nPCR test were 7.8% positive to B. caballi and 78.8% positive to T. equi, while a duplex qPCR showed 15.24% positive samples to B. caballi and 59.11% to T. equi. From these results, 27 samples were sequenced for T. equi and 13 for B. caballi, confirming the presence of both horse parasites that cause equine piroplasmosis and suggesting that they are widespread in Mexico. This is the first study confirming the presence of B. caballi and T. equi in Mexico using both serological and molecular diagnostic methods. This study shows a high incidence of exposure to the etiological agents of equine piroplasmosis in horses in the studied areas.
马梨形虫病是马、骡和驴的一种疾病，由热带和亚热带地区的蜱传播的血液原生动物巴贝斯虫和泰勒虫引起。由于临床症状不具有特异性，因此马梨形虫病的诊断较为困难。在墨西哥，环境因素有利于这些病原体的持续存在，但缺乏分子研究来评估这两种寄生虫在马中的发生情况。在本研究中，从居住在热带或亚热带气候和有蜱存在的 24 个地点的 269 匹马中获得了匹配的血清和全血样本。通过 ELISA 检测血清样本，巴贝斯虫的血清阳性率为 55.7%，泰勒虫的抗体阳性率为 68.4%。用 nPCR 检测血液样本，巴贝斯虫阳性率为 7.8%，泰勒虫阳性率为 78.8%，而双重 qPCR 显示巴贝斯虫阳性率为 15.24%，泰勒虫阳性率为 59.11%。从这些结果中，对 27 份 T. equi 样本和 13 份 B. caballi 样本进行了测序，证实了引起马梨形虫病的两种马寄生虫的存在，并表明它们在墨西哥广泛存在。这是首次使用血清学和分子诊断方法证实墨西哥存在 B. caballi 和 T. equi 的研究。本研究表明，在所研究地区的马中，暴露于马梨形虫病的病因的发生率很高。
