Department of Biological Science, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Doba, Doba, Chad.
Molecular Parasitology and Entomology Unit, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
PLoS One. 2022 Dec 30;17(12):e0279730. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279730. eCollection 2022.
Although a diversity of trypanosome species have been detected in various animal taxa from human African trypanosomosis (HAT) foci, cattle trypanosomosis has not been addressed in HAT foci of west and central African countries including Chad. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of pathogenic trypanosome species in cattle from three HAT foci of the south of Chad. Blood samples were collected from 1466 randomly selected cattle from HAT foci of Mandoul, Maro, and Moïssala in the south of Chad. For each animal, the sex, age and body condition were recorded. Rapid diagnostic test (RDT) was used to search Trypanosoma brucei gambiense antibodies while the capillary tube centrifugation (CTC) test and PCR-based methods enabled to detect and identify trypanosome species. From the 1466 cattle, 45 (3.1%) were positive to RDT. The prevalence of trypanosome infections revealed by CTC and PCR-based method were respectively 2.7% and 11.1%. Trypanosomes of the subgenus Trypanozoon were dominant (6.5%) followed by T. congolense savannah (2.9%), T. congolense forest (2.5%) and T. vivax (0.8%). No animal was found with DNA of human infective trypanosome (T. b. gambiense). The overall prevalence of trypanosome infections was significantly higher in animal from the Maro HAT focus (13.8%) than those from Mandoul (11.1%) and Moïssala HAT foci (8.0%). This prevalence was also significantly higher in animal having poor body condition (77.5%) than those with medium (11.2%) and good (0.5%) body condition. The overall prevalence of single and mixed infections were respectively 9.4% and 1.6%. This study revealed natural infections of several pathogenic trypanosome species in cattle from different HAT foci of Chad. It showed similar transmission patterns of these trypanosome species and highlighted the need of developing control strategies for animal African trypanosomosis (AAT) with the overarching goal of improving animal health and the economy of smallholder farmers.
虽然在人类非洲锥虫病（HAT）流行地区的各种动物分类群中已经检测到了多种锥虫物种，但在包括乍得在内的西非和中非国家的 HAT 流行地区，并未对牛锥虫病进行研究。本研究旨在确定乍得南部三个 HAT 流行地区牛群中致病性锥虫的流行情况。从乍得南部曼杜尔、马罗和莫伊萨拉的 HAT 流行地区随机抽取 1466 头牛采集血样。对每只动物记录其性别、年龄和身体状况。使用快速诊断检测（RDT）来检测布氏冈比亚锥虫（T. b. gambiense）抗体，而毛细管离心（CTC）检测和基于 PCR 的方法则用于检测和鉴定锥虫种类。在 1466 头牛中，有 45 头（3.1%）对 RDT 呈阳性。CTC 和基于 PCR 的方法检测到的锥虫感染率分别为 2.7%和 11.1%。亚属锥虫的锥虫占主导地位（6.5%），其次是 T. congolense savannah（2.9%）、T. congolense forest（2.5%）和 T. vivax（0.8%）。未发现携带人类感染性锥虫（T. b. gambiense）的 DNA 的动物。马罗 HAT 流行地区（13.8%）的动物锥虫感染总流行率明显高于曼杜尔（11.1%）和莫伊萨拉 HAT 流行地区（8.0%）。身体状况较差（77.5%）的动物的流行率也明显高于身体状况中等（11.2%）和良好（0.5%）的动物。单种和混合感染的总流行率分别为 9.4%和 1.6%。本研究揭示了乍得不同 HAT 流行地区牛群中几种致病性锥虫的自然感染情况。它展示了这些锥虫的相似传播模式，并强调了需要制定针对动物非洲锥虫病（AAT）的控制策略，其总体目标是改善小农户的动物健康和经济。
