Chatanga Elisha, Ahedor Believe, Atabek Berdikulov, Kainga Henson, Kapalamula Thoko, Razemba Tinotenda, Nakao Ryo, Nonaka Nariaki, Sivakumar Thillaiampalam, Yokoyama Naoaki
National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan; Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi.
National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan.
Vet Parasitol Reg Stud Reports. 2025 Aug;63:101315. doi: 10.1016/j.vprsr.2025.101315. Epub 2025 Jul 11.
Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by Theileria equi, Theileria haneyi, and Babesia caballi in equids, such as horses, donkeys, mules, and zebras. A comprehensive understanding of the epidemiology of T. equi and B. caballi is vital for EP management. The present study surveyed T. equi and B. caballi infections in donkeys and horses in Malawi. Blood samples were collected from 185 equines, including 178 donkeys in Lilongwe (n = 136) and Dedza (n = 42) districts, and seven horses in Lilongwe district. The blood samples were used to measure hematocrit values and prepare thin smears and blood spots on FTA cards. Microscopic examination of the blood smears detected T. equi in 91 equines (49.2 %), including 88 donkeys (49.4 %) and three horses (42.9 %), while B. caballi was not detected. Screening of DNA samples extracted from FTA cards with species-specific PCR assays detected T. equi in 156 (84.3 %) equines, including 152 (85.4 %) donkeys and four (57.1 %) horses, whereas all animals were negative for B. caballi. We found that the mean hematocrit value of infected donkeys (28.1 %) was significantly lower (P value = 0.0004) than that of uninfected donkeys (31.9 %). Additional analysis of T. equi-positive DNAs with the genotype-specific PCR assays detected all five genotypes (A, B, C, D, and E) in donkeys and four genotypes (A, B, C, and D) in horses. In summary, the present study, the first to report the T. equi infection in Malawi, suggests the need for EP control due to its potential clinical significance.
马焦虫病（EP）是一种由马泰勒虫、哈尼泰勒虫和马巴贝斯虫引起的蜱传播疾病，感染马、驴、骡和斑马等马科动物。全面了解马泰勒虫和马巴贝斯虫的流行病学对于马焦虫病的管理至关重要。本研究调查了马拉维驴和马中的马泰勒虫和马巴贝斯虫感染情况。从185匹马科动物采集血液样本，其中包括利隆圭（n = 136）和代扎（n = 42）地区的178头驴以及利隆圭地区的7匹马。血液样本用于测量血细胞比容值，并制作薄涂片和在FTA卡上制备血斑。对血涂片进行显微镜检查，在91匹马科动物（49.2%）中检测到马泰勒虫，其中包括88头驴（49.4%）和3匹马（42.9%），未检测到马巴贝斯虫。用种特异性PCR检测法对从FTA卡提取的DNA样本进行筛查，在156匹马科动物（84.3%）中检测到马泰勒虫，其中包括152头驴（85.4%）和4匹马（57.1%），而所有动物的马巴贝斯虫检测均为阴性。我们发现，感染驴的平均血细胞比容值（28.1%）显著低于未感染驴（31.9%）（P值 = 0.0004）。用基因型特异性PCR检测法对马泰勒虫阳性DNA进行进一步分析，在驴中检测到所有五种基因型（A、B、C、D和E），在马中检测到四种基因型（A、B、C和D）。总之，本研究首次报告了马拉维的马泰勒虫感染情况，鉴于其潜在的临床意义，提示有必要对马焦虫病进行防控。
