A retrospective study of Babesia macropus associated with morbidity and mortality in eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) and agile wallabies (Macropus agilis)

Donahoe, Shannon L.; Peacock, Christopher; Choo, Ace Y.L.; Cook, R W; O’Donoghue, P. J.; Crameri, Sandra; Vogelnest, Larry; Gordon, Anita N.; Scott, Jenni L; Rose, Karrie

doi:10.1016/j.ijppaw.2015.02.002

Cited by 18 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 28 publications

(37 reference statements)

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“…Endemic as well as introduced hemoparasites may also impact health and fitness of wildlife (e.g. Custer and Pence, 1981 , Atkinson et al., 2000 , Garvin et al., 2003 , Donahoe et al., 2015 ). Furthermore, babesiosis is an emerging zoonosis worldwide, with wildlife reservoirs playing a particular role in its epidemiology ( Gray et al., 2010 , Yabsley and Shock, 2013 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hemoparasites in a wild primate: Infection patterns suggest interaction of Plasmodium and Babesia in a lemur species

Springer

Fichtel

Calvignac‐Spencer

et al. 2015

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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Hemoparasites can cause serious morbidity in humans and animals and often involve wildlife reservoirs. Understanding patterns of hemoparasite infections in natural populations can therefore inform about emerging disease risks, especially in the light of climate change and human disruption of natural ecosystems. We investigated the effects of host age, sex, host group size and season on infection patterns of Plasmodium sp., Babesia sp. and filarial nematodes in a population of wild Malagasy primates, Verreaux's sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi), as well as the effects of these infections on hematological variables. We tested 45 blood samples from 36 individuals and identified two species of Plasmodium, one species of Babesia and two species of filarial nematodes. Plasmodium spp. and Babesia sp. infections showed opposite patterns of age-dependency, with babesiosis being prevalent among young animals, while older animals were infected with Plasmodium sp. In addition, Babesia sp. infection was a statistically significant negative predictor of Plasmodium sp. infection. These results suggest that Plasmodium and Babesia parasites may interact within the host, either through cross-immunity or via resource competition, so that Plasmodium infections can only establish after babesiosis has resolved. We found no effects of host sex, host group size and season on hemoparasite infections. Infections showed high prevalences and did not influence hematological variables. This preliminary evidence supports the impression that the hosts and parasites considered in this study appear to be well-adapted to each other, resulting in persistent infections with low pathogenic and probably low zoonotic potential. Our results illustrate the crucial role of biodiversity in host-parasite relationships, specifically how within-host pathogen diversity may regulate the abundance of parasites.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hemoparasites in a wild primate: Infection patterns suggest interaction of Plasmodium and Babesia in a lemur species

Springer

Fichtel

Calvignac‐Spencer

et al. 2015

International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

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“…In Europe, the majority of cases in humans are due to the cattle species Babesia divergens . Other species of Babesia can infect animals; indeed, babesiosis is well known as an introduced disease in Australian cattle and dogs and as an endemic infection in native mammals …”

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confidence: 99%

No evidence for widespread Babesia microti transmission in Australia

et al. 2019

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BACKGROUND A fatal case of autochthonous Babesia microti infection was reported in Australia in 2012. This has implications for Australian public health and, given that babesiosis is transfusion transmissible, has possible implications for Australian blood transfusion recipients. We investigated the seroprevalence of antibodies to B. microti in Australian blood donors and in patients with clinically suspected babesiosis. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Plasma samples (n = 7,000) from donors donating in at‐risk areas and clinical specimens from patients with clinically suspected babesiosis (n = 29) were tested for B. microti IgG by immunofluorescence assay (IFA). IFA initially reactive samples were tested for B. microti IgG and IgM by immunoblot and B. microti DNA by polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS Although five donors were initially reactive for B. microti IgG by IFA, none was confirmed for B. microti IgG (zero estimate; 95% confidence interval, 0%–0.05%) and all were negative for B. microti DNA. None of the patient samples had B. microti IgG, IgM, or DNA. CONCLUSIONS This study does not provide evidence for widespread exposure to B. microti in Australian blood donors at local theoretical risk, nor does it provide evidence of B. microti infection in Australian patients with clinically suspected babesiosis. Given that confirmed evidence of previous exposure to B. microti was not seen, these data suggest that transmission of this pathogen is currently uncommon in Australia and unlikely to pose a risk to transfusion safety at present.

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“…Species of Babesia occur in a wide range of domestic and wild mammals, B.bigemina and B. bovis in cattle representing the most economically important and pathogenic species in Australia (Dawood et al 2013). Although several species of Babesia have been described or identified in dasyurid, peramelid, potoroid and macropodid marsupials as well as the echidna, reports of clinical babesiosis in wildlife have been rare (Backhouse and Bolliger 1959;Mackerras 1959;Barker et al 1978;O'Donoghue and Adlard 2000;Paparini et al 2012;Dawood et al 2013;Donahoe et al 2015b). Disease is associated with infections in male antechinus with physiological stress in the postmating period (Cheal et al 1976;Barker et al 1978) and has been reported in eastern grey kangaroos with neurological signs, depression and anaemia attributed to stress due to handling, transportation and captivity (Dawood et al 2013).…”

Section: Piroplasmida Babesiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Babesia macropi infection was considered the primary cause of anaemia, lethargy and neurological signs resulting in morbidity and death in 38 hand-reared and free-ranging juvenile eastern grey kangaroos and three agile wallabies (Donahoe et al 2015b). The first case of human babesiosis thought to be locally acquired was reported recently (Senanayake et al 2012).…”

Section: Piroplasmida Babesiamentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildlife parasitology in Australia: past, present and future

Spratt

Beveridge

2018

Aust. J. Zool.

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Wildlife parasitology is a highly diverse area of research encompassing many fields including taxonomy, ecology, pathology and epidemiology, and with participants from extremely disparate scientific fields. In addition, the organisms studied are highly dissimilar, ranging from platyhelminths, nematodes and acanthocephalans to insects, arachnids, crustaceans and protists. This review of the parasites of wildlife in Australia highlights the advances made to date, focussing on the work, interests and major findings of researchers over the years and identifies current significant gaps that exist in our understanding. The review is divided into three sections covering protist, helminth and arthropod parasites. The challenge to document the diversity of parasites in Australia continues at a traditional level but the advent of molecular methods has heightened the significance of this issue. Modern methods are providing an avenue for major advances in documenting and restructuring the phylogeny of protistan parasites in particular, while facilitating the recognition of species complexes in helminth taxa previously defined by traditional morphological methods. The life cycles, ecology and general biology of most parasites of wildlife in Australia are extremely poorly understood. While the phylogenetic origins of the Australian vertebrate fauna are complex, so too are the likely origins of their parasites, which do not necessarily mirror those of their hosts. This aspect of parasite evolution is a continuing area for research in the case of helminths, but remains to be addressed for many other parasitic groups.

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A retrospective study of Babesia macropus associated with morbidity and mortality in eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) and agile wallabies (Macropus agilis)

Cited by 18 publications

References 28 publications

Hemoparasites in a wild primate: Infection patterns suggest interaction of Plasmodium and Babesia in a lemur species

Hemoparasites in a wild primate: Infection patterns suggest interaction of Plasmodium and Babesia in a lemur species

No evidence for widespread Babesia microti transmission in Australia

Wildlife parasitology in Australia: past, present and future

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