SEROLOGICAL EVIDENCE OF EXPOSURE TO <italic>Anaplasma phagocytophilum</italic> IN HORSES FROM THE RIO DE JANEIRO STATE MOUNTED POLICE BRED IN THE URBAN ZONE

Abstract

&lt;title&gt;Abstract&lt;/title&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;italic&gt;Anaplasma phagocytophilum&lt;/italic&gt; is an emergent hemoparasite in regions where ticks are regularly found. In order to investigate the rate of anti-&lt;italic&gt;A. phagocytophilum&lt;/italic&gt; antibody in horses of the Mounted Police of Rio de Janeiro state and therefore the presence of this agent, 41 horses from the Cavalry Squadron (CS) and 50 from the Regiment of Mounted Police (RMP) were selected. For the serologic diagnosis the Indirect Fluorescent Antibody test was performed. In the present work, among 91 equine sera samples anti-&lt;italic&gt;A. phagocytophilum&lt;/italic&gt; antibodies, with titer ≥ 1:80, were detected in 11 animals (12%), being five (5%) from males and six (7%) females, with no statistical difference. The adult animals with ages varying between five and 14 years presented the highest rate of positive reaction, although antibodies were detected in animals of all ages. We did not observe statistic differences in relation to the presence of anti-&lt;italic&gt;A. phagocytophilum&lt;/italic&gt; antibodies among the animals bred in the CS and RMP. The presence of anti-&lt;italic&gt;A.phagocytophilim&lt;/italic&gt; antibodies in horses of the Mounted Police with no clinical signs is indicative that the parasite is present in the enzootic form among the horses of the urban area. The circulation of the parasite among the animals is not dependent of the presence of tick infestations.&lt;/p&gt;

The first serological evidence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in horses in Slovakia

“…We confirmed a 42.5% prevalence of antibodies to A. phagocytophilum. Consistently with the results obtained by Rolim et al (2015), no predisposition for infection based on the animal's sex or age was observed in our study, and no molecular evidence of A. phagocytophilum was found in the animals tested. In Europe, a seropositivity higher than this was observed only in the Czech Republic (Praskova et al, 2011).…”

Molecular evidence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Theileria equi coinfection in horses from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

“…Anti- A. phagocytophilum antibodies were detected in 65% ( n = 13) of horses in the Brazilian Army (1st Guards Cavalry Regiment, Independence Dragoons, Brasilia - DF, Brazil) and in Goiania county, GO, Brazil, with clinical signs suggestive of EGA ( Salvagni et al., 2010 ). Anti- A. phagocytophilum antibodies were also detected in horses from the Southeast ( Prado et al., 2018 , Rolim et al., 2015 ), Northeast ( Nogueira et al., 2017 ) and South ( Vieira et al., 2013 ) of Brazil. In addition, Sacchi et al.…”

“…Serological studies were performed in Brazil to verify the presence of anti- A. phagocytophilum IgG antibodies. Those reports identified high titers in horses from the states of São Paulo ( Salvagni et al., 2010 ) and Rio de Janeiro ( Rolim, Oliveira, & Brasil, 2015 ), in dogs from Paraná ( Vieira et al., 2013 ) and in a deer marsh ( Blastocerus dichotomus) ( Sacchi, Duarte, André, & Machado, 2012 ). Santos et al.…”

Molecular and serological detection of Theileria equi, Babesia caballi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in horses and ticks in Maranhão, Brazil

“…Recently in Brazil, Rolim et al (2015) investigated the rate of anti-A. phagocytophilum antibodies in horses from the Cavalry Squadron and Regiment of Mounted Police and found out 12% (11/91) animals with titer≥1:80.…”