Prevalence of Tick Borne Pathogens in Horses from Italy

Abstract

ABSTRACT. In order to investigate the prevalence of tick-borne diseases, equine piroplasmosis, equine granulocytic anaplasmosis and Lyme borreliosis in Central Italy, blood samples from 300 horses were analyzed for the presence of antibodies against Babesia caballi, Theileria equi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi using the IFAT. The blood samples were also subjected to PCR assays in order to detect pathogen DNA. A total of 78 (26.0%) and 123 (41.0%) horses were found to be seropositive for B. caballi and T. equi, respectively, while 41 (13. 4%) and 21 (7.0%) horses were, respectively, seropositive for A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi. Seropositivity for more than one agent was detected in 76 horses using IFAT. The most common association observed was between T. equi and B. caballi (14.7%). In addition, 54 horses (18.0%) were found to be positive for one or more tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) using PCR testing. Among these, 28 (9.3%) harbored single infections, while 26 (8.7%) were found to be co-infected with two or more pathogens. The correlation (K value) between IFAT and PCR results was 0.32 for T. equi, 0.34 for B. caballi, 0.62 for B. burgdorferi and 0.48 for A. phagocytophilum, reflecting an unprecedented degree of multiple exposures to TBPs in horses.

Seroprevalence and Molecular Analysis of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi in Horses From Central Italy During a 10-Year Period

“…The low and occasional occurrence of antibodies against B. caballi observed in the present survey agree with previous studies carried out in Central and Northern Italy [12,13], but not with other authors who reported higher prevalences [5,[14][15][16]. The low prevalence of B. caballi and the fact that it was not detected since 2009 disagrees with previously reported in Tuscany [11].…”

Serological and molecular detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in horses reared in Korea

“…Numerous studies conducted outside Korea have also reported seropositivity for A. phagocytophilum in horses: 73% (67/90) of horses in the Czech Republic tested positive by IFAT (Praskova et al 2011); 13% (21/162) of horses in Portugal tested positive by IFAT (Ribeiro et al 2013); 13.7% (41/300) and 6.7% (20/300) of horses in Italy tested positive by IFAT and PCR, respectively (Laus et al 2013);16.3% (56/343) of horses in Tunisia tested positive by IFAT (Ben Said et al 2014); and 10.1% (45/444) and 9.0% (40/444) of horses in Italy tested positive by IFAT and ELISA, respectively (Veronesi et al 2014). The prevalence of seropositivity in the present study was lower than that reported in these studies; however, it is consistent with another Korean study that showed 2.2% (2/92) seropositivity for A. phagocytophilum in horses reared on Jeju Island, as determined by IFAT (Chae et al 2009).…”

Classification of ticks collected from horses in the Netherlands in 2008–2009 and identification of the (zoonotic) agents they contain

“…The high frequency of co-infection may be significant because it has been suggested that co-infection enhances pathogenicity of a number of tick-borne pathogens in both man and animals (Belongia 2002, Thomas et al 2001. Serological investigations in horses as well indicated a frequent co-infection with tick-borne pathogens (Laus et al 2013).…”