Sousa Jordeano Araujo, Miranda Leandro Macedo, Coutinho Danielle Jordany Barros, Costa Thaliane França, Costa Sidilene Pereira, Freitas Úrsula Silva, Costa Francisco Borges, Machado Rosangela Zacarias, Nogueira Rita de Maria Seabra, Costa Andréa Pereira da
Laboratório de Parasitologia e Doenças Parasitárias, Universidade Estadual do Maranhão - UEMA, São Luís, MA, Brasil.
Vector-Borne Bioagents Laboratory, Departamento de Patologia, Reprodução e Saúde Única, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Jaboticabal, SP, Brasil.
Rev Bras Parasitol Vet. 2025 Jun 20;34(2):e000125. doi: 10.1590/S1984-29612025032. eCollection 2025.
The hemoprotozoan Trypanosoma evansi is a parasite that infects mammals, causing an infection known as trypanosomiasis. There is no report of T. evansi in horses in the State of Maranhão, highlighting the need to assess exposure and infection by the parasite and generate data for its monitoring. The objectives of this study were to identify T. evansi in blood samples from horses, investigate its occurrence in horses in this region, and analyze the associated risk factors. Three hundred blood samples were collected for parasitological (blood smear), serological (indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay - ELISA), and molecular (polymerase chain reaction - PCR) diagnostic purposes. No trypomastigote forms of T. evansi were observed in the examined blood smears. Serological examined of 209 samples revealed that 33.01% (69/209) were positive for anti-T. evansi antibodies. No variable was identified as a risk factor. Among the 300 samples submitted to PCR, 1% (3/300) were positive, and sequencing showed 100% similarity with T. evansi species. The study identified exposure and infection of horses by T. evansi in Maranhão, expanding its geographic distribution in the country and highlighting the importance of periodic testing.
血液原生动物伊氏锥虫是一种感染哺乳动物的寄生虫，可引发一种名为锥虫病的感染。马拉尼昂州尚无关于马匹感染伊氏锥虫的报告，这凸显了评估该寄生虫暴露和感染情况并生成监测数据的必要性。本研究的目的是在马的血液样本中鉴定伊氏锥虫，调查该地区马匹中伊氏锥虫的存在情况，并分析相关风险因素。为进行寄生虫学（血涂片）、血清学（间接酶联免疫吸附测定 - ELISA）和分子（聚合酶链反应 - PCR）诊断，采集了300份血液样本。在所检查的血涂片中未观察到伊氏锥虫的锥鞭毛体形式。对209份样本进行的血清学检测显示，33.01%（69/209）的样本抗伊氏锥虫抗体呈阳性。未确定任何变量为风险因素。在提交PCR检测的300份样本中，1%（3/300）呈阳性，测序显示与伊氏锥虫物种的相似度为100%。该研究确定了马拉尼昂州的马匹感染了伊氏锥虫，扩大了其在该国的地理分布，并凸显了定期检测的重要性。
