Babesia caballi and Theileria equi infections in horses in Central-Southern Italy: Sero-molecular survey and associated risk factors

Pino, Leticia Elisa Bartolomé Del; Nardini, Roberto; Veneziano, Vincenzo; Francesca, Iacoponi; Cersini, Antonella; Luca, Autorino Gian; Buono, Francesco; Teresa, Scicluna Maria

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2016.01.011

Cited by 42 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Infected horses may remain lifelong carriers of T. equi, whereas B. caballi is eliminated from the bloodstream 1–4 years post-infection, which could explain the seroprevalence difference for these parasites [12, 28, 85]. This fact could explain why in horses older than nine years, the percentage of infected animals exceeds that of uninfected animals in the case of T. equi, which never occurs for B. caballi .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several authors [4, 12, 35, 38, 45, 49, 50, 56, 70, 74, 77, 79, 84, 90, 100] suggested that age was a risk factor, since older animals could have been exposed to ticks for a longer period than young animals. Nevertheless, other authors showed the absence of an age-prevalence relationship [1, 3, 8, 10, 17, 23, 26, 36, 40, 46, 69, 75, 76, 80, 92, 94].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sevinc et al [90] and Aharonson-Raz et al [4] recognised that the seroprevalence in Arabian horses was higher, as also found in the present study, especially for B. caballi . Bartolomé del Pino et al [12] indicated that the prevalence in crossbred horses was significantly higher than other (pure) breeds. Other surveys showed no association between infection prevalence and breed [2, 10, 36, 75].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have also been studies that demonstrated statistically significant differences between counties or regions [2, 3, 8, 12, 16, 26, 29, 35, 51, 52, 56, 87, 91, 94, 96]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Seroprevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in horses in Spain

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Equine piroplasmoses are enzootic parasitic diseases distributed worldwide with high incidence in tropical and subtropical regions. In Spain, there is insufficient epidemiological data about equine piroplasmoses. The main aim of the present study was therefore to estimate the prevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in five regions and obtain information about the risk factors. This study was conducted in the central and south-western regions of Spain, using indirect fluorescence antibody testing (IFAT) in 3,100 sera samples from apparently healthy horses of different ages, breeds, coat colours, genders and geographical locations. The overall seroprevalence was 52%, consisting of 44% seropositive for T. equi and 21% for B. caballi. There was a significant association between age (p < 0.0001), breed (p < 0.004), geographical location (p < 0.0001) and the seroprevalence, but neither the coat colour nor the gender was significantly associated with prevalence. In addition, it was proved that most of the geographic areas showed a moderate to high prevalence. The statistical κ value was used to compare the results obtained by the IFAT and the competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) utilised to test some samples (n = 108) and showed a higher concordance for T. equi (κ = 0.68) than for B. caballi (κ = 0.22). Consequently, this revealed the importance of developing an appropriate technique to detect each haemoparasite.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have also been studies that demonstrated statistically significant differences between counties or regions [2, 3, 8, 12, 16, 26, 29, 35, 51, 52, 56, 87, 91, 94, 96]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Seroprevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in horses in Spain

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…EP is endemic in Italy and several studies regarding its distribution and prevalence were carried out by means of indirect fluorescent antibody tests and PCR assays on horse serum samples (Moretti et al 2010, Grandi et al, 2011, Laus et al 2013). Recently, several seropositive horses were reported from central Italy, pinpointing a cluster of EP infection in the Aurunci Mountains, southern Lazio region (Moretti et al 2010, Bartolomé Del Pino et al 2016). Nevertheless, scientific data on tick species responsible for transmission are few and fragmentary in Italy and mainly focused on other Babesia and Theileria species (Savini et al 1999, Georges et al 2001, Cringoli et al 2002, Curioni et al 2004, Iori et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of Ixodid ticks as vectors of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi (Protozoa: Apicomplexa) in central Italy

Romiti

Magliano

Antognetti

et al. 2020

Journal of Vector Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are widely recognized as causative agents of equine pirolasmosis (EP), an acute, sub‐acute, and chronic disease of equines, with relevant economic impact on horse trade worldwide. Although several studies on EP prevalence from central Italy have been published, data on ticks responsible for its transmission are still lacking. In this study, we identified a potential competent vector, investigating main features of its ecology together with EP infection rates. A two‐year sampling of questing ticks was carried out for the first time in Italy in an area known for high EP prevalence in horse sera, detecting the association between Rhipicephalus bursa and causative agents of EP. Most of the positive pools harbored a single infection (91.1%); mixed infections were also detected (8.9%). The infection rate for T. equi slightly decreased among years; B. caballi showed a lower, but increasing, infection rate. Tick phenology, climate variables, and peaks of EP prevalence indicated late May and second half of June as periods with the highest risk of new infections, especially during warm and dry days.

show abstract

Protozoan Parasites

Mehlhorn¹

2016

Animal Parasites

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Babesia caballi and Theileria equi infections in horses in Central-Southern Italy: Sero-molecular survey and associated risk factors

Cited by 42 publications

References 22 publications

Seroprevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in horses in Spain

Seroprevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in horses in Spain

Investigation of Ixodid ticks as vectors of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi (Protozoa: Apicomplexa) in central Italy

Protozoan Parasites

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About