Prevalence of endo‐ and ecto‐parasites of equines in Iran: A systematic review

Abstract

Equines are subject to infection with many parasites, which threaten their health. In the present study, we systematically reviewed existing literature on the prevalence of endo‐ and ectoparasites of equines in Iran. Major electronic databases, including PubMed, PubMed Central, Google Scholar, Science Direct and Scientific Information Database (SID), were searched (Last updated 11/05/2018) for relevant literature of parasites that have been identified from equines in Iran. Of the 1809 titles produced by bibliographic search, 38 were included in the review. Twenty‐seven of the studies were on horses, six on donkeys, three on both horses and donkeys, and one study was on both horses and mules. Furthermore, 24 of the studies reported infections caused by protozoa, thirteen by helminths, two by ectoparasites, and one by both protozoa and helminths. The overall pooled prevalence of parasitic infection was 28.8% (95%CI: 22.9–35.7, I2 = 93.4%). Helminths were the most prevalent parasites 46.7% (95% CI: 24.1–70.7, I2 = 96.0%). Furthermore, donkeys were the most affected equine, with a prevalence of 70.7% (95% CI: 53.2–83.7, I2 = 92.5%). The protozoa frequently reported included nine species belonging to the genera: Neospora, Toxoplasma, Theileria, Babesia and Eimeria. Also, the helminths frequently reported included 21 species belonging to the genera: Strongylus, Dicrocoelium, Oxyuris, Habronema, Echinococcus, Dictyocaulus, Cyathostomum, Probstmayria, Anoplocephala, Setaria and Fasciola. Ticks were the only ectoparasites frequently reported. Parasitic fly species of the genera Gasterophilus were also reported. The study‐level risk of bias was likely to be high because of differences in study design. Parasitic infections of equines in Iran are frequent and caused by a diversity of parasites, which threatens the health and well‐being of these animals. Further research is needed in the area to identify the risk factors of infection for effective control of the parasites.

Emergent and Neglected Equine Filariosis in Egypt: Species Diversity and Host Immune Response

“…is a filarial disease affecting bovines and can accidentally be transmitted into unusual hosts such as horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, and camels [38][39][40][41]. Setaria digitata has been detected in horses in Korea [42,43], Malaysia [8], India [13], Iran [5], and China [9]. S. equina has been detected in donkeys in Egypt [7,12,32].…”

“…Adult nematode parasitise tissues and the body cavities of equids produce skin-or blood-dwelling microfilariae. The larvae are ingested by blood-feeding arthropods and undergo two-stage development followed by the third stage (L3), where they are transmitted to a new receptive host [1][2][3][4][5]. The most known filarioid species infecting equids belong to the Onchocerca, Dirofilaria and Setaria genera.…”

Factors Influencing the Incidence of Eimeria Leuckarti in Horses

“…Results of present survey first time depicted association of various determinants with the incidence of coccidiosis in horses at large scale. There are various reports of E. leuckarti from different parts of world showing prevalence from 0.3 to 80% (Colombia 0.3%, Kashmir 0.34%, Nigeria 1.2%, Romania 1.90%, Greece 4%, Turkey 4.5% & 5.88%, Finland 1% & 5.8%, Poland 6.7%, Iran 7.68%, Nigeria 28.57%, Brazil 40.4%, USA 41.6%, Germany 80%) (Beelitz et al 1994;Lyons and Tolliver 2004;Studzińska et al 2008;Pandit et al 2008;Papazahariadou et al 2009;Umur and Açici 2009;Ehizibolo et al 2012;Ionită et al 2013;Aromaa et al 2018;Ola-Fadunsin et al 2019;Ramírez-Hernández et al 2019;Hautala et al 2019;Gomes et al 2019;Khamesipour et al 2021). Wide range of percentage may be attributed to different techniques of fecal examination and age of sampled animals (Studzińska et al 2008).…”

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis in the Field of Parasitology

“…To conclude, for the sake of science and to fulfill their mission, the scientific journals in the Digital Age must practice a sound and prudent processing procedure of articles, most importantly through proper peer-reviewing of the submitted manuscripts ( 3 , 4 ). An example for all is a potentially valuable paper by Khamesipour et al ( 5 ) which has not obviously been reviewed by relevant referees upon the submission, as it suffers from some issues which would have readily been corrected should the authors had been noticed through a proper peer-reviewing process normally implemented by journals.…”