Molecular Detection of Babesia Odocoilei in Wild, Farmed, and Zoo Cervids in Ontario, Canada

Milnes, Ellie L.; Thornton, Grace; Delnatte, Pauline; Léveillé, Alexandre N.; Barta, John R.; Smith, Dale A.; Nemeth, Nicole M.

doi:10.7589/2018-06-147

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The focus of this study was on parasites, but the approach taken could be readily expanded to consider bacterial and viral pathogens. Our data suggest that it is unlikely that a large proportion of Australian deer are involved in maintaining the life cycle of Trypanosoma ,Plasmodium , Neospora , Sarcocystis ,Toxoplasma , Babesia and Theileria , as our maximum possible prevalence of infection are lower than those reported in Italy (Zanet et al, 2014) and Canada (Milnes et al, 2019). Importantly, this survey represents the first molecular study of its type in Australian deer and provides important baseline information about the disease status of wild deer in eastern Australia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Screening of Blood Parasites in Australian Wild Deer

Huaman

Pacioni

Forsyth

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Wild animals are natural reservoir hosts for a variety of pathogens, and such is the case for deer (family Cervidae). Deer were introduced to Australia 150 years ago for farming and game, but wild deer populations have expanded considerably in recent years, posing increasing threats to biodiversity, agriculture and public health. There are few data currently available on pathogens that Australian wild deer carry or whether these organisms pose biosecurity threats to humans, wildlife, livestock or other domestic animals. To address this knowledge gap, we tested for the presence of seven parasitic genera in 243 blood samples collected from four wild deer species in eastern Australia. Blood samples were tested by PCR for the presence of Plasmodium, Trypanosoma, Babesia, Theileria, Toxoplasma, Sarcocystis and Neospora DNA. No amplification was obtained for either the 18S rRNA (or the cytochrome b gene in the case of Plasmodium) of the seven selected parasitic genera, suggesting that wild deer in eastern Australia currently pose little risk as vectors of these parasites to livestock and humans. This survey represents the first molecular study of its type in Australian deer and provides important baseline information about the health status of these animals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 72%

Screening of Blood Parasites in Australian Wild Deer

Huaman

Pacioni

Forsyth

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Babesia species are often observed in captive or semicaptive cervids and bovids [24,34,[97][98][99], but they have also been found in other captive animal species. These protozoan parasites can complete their life cycle within multiple tick species, including I. scapularis [98,99], I. ricinus [97,100], Dermacentor albipictus [101], A. americanum [24] and I. pacificus [99]. Babesiosis has a range of typical symptoms, like hemolytic anemia, jaundice, fever, shaking and hemoglobinuria [102].…”

Section: Babesia Theileria and Cytauxzoon Piroplasmidamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Babesiosis has a range of typical symptoms, like hemolytic anemia, jaundice, fever, shaking and hemoglobinuria [102]. However, an asymptomatic disease course is also possible, especially in animals with a well-developed immunity [98].…”

Section: Babesia Theileria and Cytauxzoon Piroplasmidamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Between the years 2013 and 2016, nine fatal babesiosis cases were detected in Canadian zoo-kept adult reindeer and wapiti [24]. A higher number of positive cases were observed in Canada between the years 2016 to 2018 in zoo, or farm-kept cervids, like wapiti and red deer (Cervus elaphus) [98]. In the USA, fatal babesiosis infections were described very early in captive-bred cervids, including in caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) at the Minnesota Zoo [106] and the North American elk (Cervus elaphus canadiensis) kept on a farm in Texas [101].…”

Section: Babesia Theileria and Cytauxzoon Piroplasmidamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All the aforementioned Canadian and American studies related the positive samples to Babesia odocoilei. This Babesia species seems to be predominant in Canadian and North American captive cervids [24,98,105,107]. Considering these cases, it can be reasonably assumed that babesiosis is yet another global, tick-borne related threat to captive cervids.…”

Section: Babesia Theileria and Cytauxzoon Piroplasmidamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Role of Zoo-Housed Animals in the Ecology of Ticks and Tick-Borne Pathogens—A Review

et al. 2021

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Ticks are ubiquitous ectoparasites, feeding on representatives of all classes of terrestrial vertebrates and transmitting numerous pathogens of high human and veterinary medical importance. Exotic animals kept in zoological gardens, ranches, wildlife parks or farms may play an important role in the ecology of ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs), as they may serve as hosts for local tick species. Moreover, they can develop diseases of varying severity after being infected by TBPs, and theoretically, can thus serve as reservoirs, thereby further propagating TBPs in local ecosystems. The definite role of these animals in the tick–host-pathogen network remains poorly investigated. This review provides a summary of the information currently available regarding ticks and TBPs in connection to captive local and exotic wildlife, with an emphasis on zoo-housed species.

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