Tick-borne diseases in horses refer to illnesses transmitted by tick vectors, affecting equine health through various pathogens. These diseases can lead to a range of clinical symptoms, including fever, lethargy, and lameness, depending on the specific pathogen involved. Common tick-borne diseases affecting horses include Lyme disease, equine piroplasmosis, and anaplasmosis. Diagnosis often involves serological tests, PCR assays, and clinical evaluation. Understanding the ecology of ticks and their interaction with horses is essential for managing and preventing these diseases. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and management of tick-borne diseases in horses.
Camino E, Dorrego A, Carvajal KA, Buendia-Andres A, de Juan L, Dominguez L, Cruz-Lopez F.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne protozoan disease caused by Theileria equi and/or Babesia caballi. Clinical signs (fever, pale mucosal membranes, jaundice), anemia and hyperbilirubinemia have been associated with the disease. EP is widespread, has a significant economic impact on the equine industry and remains endemic in Spain. This study was carried out with samples belonging to 140 horses residing in Spain and showing common clinical signs of EP. A blood smear microscopic examination and a comparison between the different results obtained by competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent...
Tirosh-Levy S, Gottlieb Y, Arieli O, Mazuz ML, King R, Horowitz I, Steinman A.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is an important tick-borne disease of equids, caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi. It is endemic in most parts of the world, including Israel, and has clinical and economic consequences. This study was set to evaluate the presence of EP parasites in domestic donkeys and in wild equids in Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). To assess subclinical EP infection in 98 domestic donkeys (Equus africanus asinus), 9 Asiatic wild donkeys (Equus hemionus), 8 zebras (Equus quagga), 7 African wild donkeys (Equus africanus) and 5 mules, were tested using PCR and qPC...
Valente JDM, Mongruel ACB, Machado CAL, Chiyo L, Leandro AS, Britto AS, Martins TF, Barros-Filho IR, Biondo AW, Perotta JH, Campos ANS, Vidotto O....Tick-borne diseases (TBD) constitute an important group of illness affecting animals and humans worldwide. In Brazil, carthorses are frequently exposed to ticks and tick-borne pathogens, leading to impairment of horse performance and imposing restrictions by the international veterinary authorities for the importation of horses. Accordingly, this study has aimed to i) determine the prevalence of the TBD agents Theileria equi, Babesia caballi, Ehrlichia spp., and hemotropic mycoplasmas in carthorses, ii) identify the tick species parasitizing the animals, and iii) determine factors associated w...
Ali A, Khan MA, Zahid H, Yaseen PM, Qayash Khan M, Nawab J, Ur Rehman Z, Ateeq M, Khan S, Ibrahim M.Although ticks prevalent in various agro-systems of Pakistan are associated with economic losses, information is still missing about the tick's diversity, hosts they infest, seasonal dynamics and molecular phylogeny of in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pakistan. This study for the first time enlisted ticks infesting diverse hosts including humans in various regions of KP. A total of 8,641 ticks were collected across the northern, southern and central regions of KP and were morpho-taxonomically categorized into six genera comprising 17 species, ( = 3,584, 42%), ( = 2,253, 27%) ( = 1,342, 16%), ( =...
Minervino AHH, Torres AC, Moreira TR, Vinholte BP, Sampaio BM, Bianchi D, Portela JM, Sarturi C, Marcili A, Barrêto Júnior RA, Gennari SM....The State of Pará has one of the largest herds of equids (horse, donkey and mule) in Brazil, most of these animals are found on cattle farms. Equine theileriosis is a tick-borne disease caused by the parasite Theileria equi and is characterized by fever, anaemia, icterus, intravascular haemolysis, haemoglobinuria, spleen and hepatomegaly, and even death. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of antibodies against T. equi in equids in the western region of the State of Pará, Brazil, and to identify potential risk factors associated with parasite infection. A cross-sectional stu...
Tsachev I, Baymakova M, Pantchev N.Lyme borreliosis, granulocytic anaplasmosis and monocytic ehrlichiosis are well studied in humans and dogs. In horses, these diseases are not widely investigated and limited information is available about their occurrence. The purpose of this study was to present the first ELISA-based report on the seroprevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi in horses from Northern Bulgaria. A total of 192 horses were investigated from three regions in Northern Bulgaria (Northwestern, North-Central and Northeastern Bulgaria). All equine sera were tested for A. phagocyto...
Ebani VV.Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp. are tick-borne bacteria of veterinary and human concern. In view of the One-Health concept, the present study wanted to evaluate the spreading of these pathogens in horses living in central Italy. In particular, the aim of the investigation was to verify the exposure to A. phagocytophilum in order to update the prevalence of this pathogen in the equine population from this area, and to spotted fever group (SFG) Rickettsia spp. to evaluate a possible role of horses in the epidemiology of rickettsiosis. Indirect immunofluorescent assay was carried ou...
Sears KP, Kappmeyer LS, Wise LN, Silva M, Ueti MW, White S, Reif KE, Knowles DP.Theileria equi infection, exotic to the United States has reemerged through intravenous (iatrogenic) and tick-borne transmission. Surveillance at the US-Mexico border identified a new species, Theileria haneyi, (T. haneyi) (EP = Eagle Pass, Texas) which warranted additional investigation due to inability to detect by PCR targeting of T. equi ema-1 and EMA-1-cELISA validated for T. equi. Infection dynamics of T. haneyi were evaluated, including ability to superinfect in the presence of T. equi-Texas (T. equi), the isolate responsible for the reemergence of T. equi in the U S. Experimental i...
Trumpp KM, Parsley AL, Lewis MJ, Camp JW, Taylor SD.Tick paralysis has not been reported in horses in North America. Results: Two American Miniature horses were examined for progressive weakness and recumbency. Numerous ticks (Dermacentor variabilis) were found on both horses. Horse 1 was recumbent (grade 5/5 gait deficit) on presentation, whereas Horse 2 was standing but ataxic (grade 4/5 gait deficit) and tetraparetic. Both horses had decreased tongue and tail muscle tone, and had normal spinal reflexes. Cerebrospinal fluid cytology was normal. Equine herpesvirus-1 testing was negative. Unassigned: Ticks were removed within 24 hours of pres...
Onyiche TE, Suganuma K, Igarashi I, Yokoyama N, Xuan X, Thekisoe O.Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by apicomplexan protozoan parasites, and . The disease is responsible for serious economic losses to the equine industry. It principally affects donkeys, horses, mules, and zebra but DNA of the parasites has also been detected in dogs and camels raising doubt about their host specificity. The disease is endemic in tropical and temperate regions of the world where the competent tick vectors are prevalent. Infected equids remain carrier for life with infection, whilst, infection with is cleared within a few years. This review focuses on...
Freese S, Sheats MK.A 20-year-old Paint gelding was evaluated for fever of unknown origin. History and clinical signs were consistent with potential tick-borne disease. Samples were collected and submitted for tick-borne disease panel, herpes virus, complete blood count, and serum biochemistry. Based on physical examination findings and vaccination history, the gelding was treated for suspected tick-borne disease with oxytetracycline (8 mg/kg intravenously BID) for 5 days, followed by doxycycline (10 mg/kg PO BID) for an additional 5 days. Although titers to Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, an...
Rockstroh A, Moges B, Berneck BS, Sattler T, Revilla-Fernández S, Schmoll F, Pacenti M, Sinigaglia A, Barzon L, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Nowotny N....Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and West Nile virus (WNV) are important arthropod-borne zoonotic flaviviruses. Due to the emergence of WNV in TBEV-endemic regions co-circulation of both viruses is increasing. Flaviviruses are structurally highly similar, which leads to cross-reacting antibodies upon infection. Currently available serological assays for TBEV and WNV infections are therefore compromised by false-positive results, especially in IgG measurements. In order to discriminate both infections novel diagnostic methods are needed. We describe an ELISA to measure IgG antibodies specif...
Smith RM, Bhoora RV, Kotzé A, Grobler JP, Lee Dalton D.Translocation of animals in fragmented habitats is an important means of dispersal and gene flow, however, the movement of animals has led to the spread of various diseases globally and wildlife are often the reservoirs of these diseases. Currently, Cape mountain zebra are translocated within South Africa as a management method for augmentation of isolated and fragmented populations. The movement of pathogens due to translocations in local regions have gone largely unchecked, particularly where there may still be isolated regions that can be negatively affected. Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-...
Gharbi M, Drissi G, Darghouth MA.A preliminary study was carried out to examine the population dynamics of ticks on 24 pure Arabian horses. The horses were monitored monthly over one year in the Ghardimaou region of north-west Tunisia. A total of 120 adult ticks were collected and identified, leading to the estimation of different parasitological indicators. The ticks belonged to a single genus (Hyalomma) and three species: H. scupense (59%), H. marginatum (28%) and H. excavatum (13%) (p < 0.001). The mean infestation prevalence was 29.5%; the highest prevalence was observed for H. scupense (41.7%) (p 0.05), but the propo...
Santodomingo A, Sierra-Orozco K, Cotes-Perdomo A, Castro LR.Horses are among the domestic animals that closely interact with humans and are highly parasitized by ticks, which are the primary vectors of zoonoses. As horses in Tayrona National Natural Park (PNNT) are used as a means of transporting goods, luggage and people, they are in constant contact with wild animals, workers and tourists from different countries. These factors increase the transmission risk of hemoparasites. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of Rickettsia sp., Anaplasma sp., and Theileria sp., in horse ticks in this protected area using conventional PCR. We col...
Dos Santos TM, Roier ECR, Pires MS, Santos HA, Vilela JAR, Peckle M, Paulino PG, Baldani CD, Massard CL.The present study aims to determine the frequencies of Theileria equi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum antibodies among horses from the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and to detect the presence of DNA of these pathogens through molecular methods. A total of 98 serum samples of horses from the municipality of Seropedica were tested by indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) to detect anti-A. phagocytophilum and anti-T. equi IgG antibodies. In addition, quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) was used to detect these pathogens in the DNA extracted from the whole blood and buffy coat of horses. Bivar...
Campos JBV, André MR, Gonçalves LR, Freschi CR, Santos FM, de Oliveira CE, Piranda EM, de Andrade GB, Macedo GC, Machado RZ, Herrera HM.Brazilian Pantanal is the world´s largest wetland ecosystem, where cattle's ranching is the most important economic activity. The objective of this study was to compile some epidemiological features on equine piroplasmids from the Nhecolândia sub-region of Pantanal wetland through the evaluation of the patterns of T. equi and B. caballi infections in different groups of horses; identification of the tick species that infest horses; and to study phylogenetic relationships among Theileria equi 18S rRNA gene sequences. During October 2015, blood and serum samples were collected from 170 horses ...
Prasad A, Kumar V, Kumar B.Theileria equi is a tickborne hemoparasite that can cause severe illness in equids. In this report, we are describing a condition of acute bilateral hyphema in a 4-month-old Kathiawari filly infected with T. equi. The horse showed clinical signs such as fever, lethargy, icterus, tachycardia, tachypnea, and bilateral hyphema. Laboratory diagnosis revealed anemia and thrombocytopenia. Atypical clinical manifestation of bilateral hyphema, to our knowledge, has never been reported so far in equids infected with T. equi. The diagnosis was confirmed by microscopic examination of Geimsa-stained blo...
Ferreira LL, Sarria ALF, de Oliveira Filho JG, de Silva FO, Powers SJ, Caulfield JC, Pickett JA, Birkett MA, Borges LMF.Amblyomma sculptum is a tick affecting animal and human health across Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Brazil. Donkeys, Equus asinus, are known to be resistant to A. sculptum, suggesting that they can produce non-host tick semiochemicals (allomones), as already demonstrated for some other vertebrate host/pest interactions, whereas horses, Equus caballus, are considered as susceptible hosts. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that donkeys produce natural repellents against A. sculptum, by collecting sebum from donkeys and horses, collecting the odour from sebum extracts, and identifying do...
Wang J, Liu J, Yang J, Wang X, Li Z, Jianlin X, Li X, Xiang Q, Li Y, Liu Z, Luo J, Guan G, Yin H.Equine piroplasmosis, caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, is an economically important tick-borne disease worldwide. In the current study, 242 blood samples were randomly collected from horses in Zhangye city of Gansu province, China. The presence and genetic diversity of piroplasms were evaluated with a nested PCR assay, gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The results showed that seventy-five (31.0%) samples were positive for piroplasms. Sequences analysis showed that seventy-three (30.2%) were positive for T. equi, and seven (2.9%) for B. caballi, five of which (2.1%) were i...
Montes Cortés MG, Fernández-García JL, Habela Martínez-Estéllez MÁ.Two haemoparasites, Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, cause equine piroplasmosis (EP), one of the most prevalent tick-borne diseases in horses. The main aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate a multinested PCR (mn-PCR) for simultaneous detection of the equine piroplasmids T. equi and B. caballi, by amplification of five genetic markers (18S rRNA, β-tubulin, cytB, EMA-1 and RAP-1). This novel assay detected a high prevalence of equine piroplasmids in 235 horse blood samples collected in Castilla-León and Extremadura, Spain. The overall prevalence of infection with equine pirop...
Coultous RM, Phipps P, Dalley C, Lewis J, Hammond TA, Shiels BR, Weir W, Sutton DGM.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) has historically been of minor concern to UK equine practitioners, primarily due to a lack of competent tick vectors. However, increased detection of EP tick vector species in the UK has been reported recently. EP screening is not currently required for equine importation, and when combined with recent relaxations in movement regulations, there is an increased risk regarding disease incursion and establishment into the UK. This study evaluated the prevalence of EP by both serology and PCR among 1242 UK equine samples submitted for EP screening between February and Dec...
Quintero Vélez JC, Aguirre-Acevedo DC, Rodas JD, Arboleda M, Troyo A, Vega Aguilar F, Osorio Quintero L, Rojas Arbeláez C.Most of the studies related to rickettsial infection in Colombia are cross-sectional because of the challenge in conducting prospective studies on infectious disease that may have a difficult diagnosis. Although cross-sectional studies are essential to detect people exposed to rickettsiae, they are not suited to demonstrate the recent circulation of this pathogen in areas at risk of transmission. To characterize the epidemiology of incident cases of Spotted fever group (SFG) rickettsial infection in humans and equines from rural areas of Urabá region in Colombia where outbreaks of rickettsiae...
Françoso R, Riccio AV, Fernandes CB, Alonso MA, Belli CB.Equine piroplasmosis, disease globally responsible for significant economic losses, is caused by the transmission of the hemoprotozoa Theileria equi and Babesia caballi by ticks. Transplacental transmission has been reported previously in horses, which is not the case for mules´ foals. The present study investigated, by Real Time-PCR (RT-PCR), the presence of both Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in newborn mules before the ingestion of colostrum. Blood samples of 18 mares and their respective mules´ foals were collected and analyzed by RT-PCR. Only one mare was positive for B. caballi. In...
Ozubek S, Aktas M.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a protozoon disease caused by Babesia caballi and Theileria equi transmitted by ticks from the Ixodidae family. This study investigated the genetic heterogeneity and diversity of piroplasm genotypes using the Reverse Line Blotting (RLB) technique for piroplasm species in equids in Turkey. A total of 233 blood samples from 142 horses and 91 donkeys were collected in Şanlıurfa, Tunceli, and Iğdır. The RLB assay was performed for simultaneous detection of piroplasm species. The prevalence of piroplasm infection was 33.5% (95% CI; 27.4-39.9). T. equi was the most c...
Schein FB, Maia MO, Witter R, Marcili A, Camargo LM, Dutra V, Nakazato L, Candido SL, Almeida EM, Oliveira ACS, Pacheco RC.We evaluated the distribution of piroplasmids in equids from the Mato Grosso state in Midwestern Brazil using molecular methods and the interspecific genetic diversity. For this, 1,624 blood samples of equids from 973 farms were examined by PCR, using primer pairs that amplify a fragment of the genes rap-1 and ema-1 of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, respectively. For molecular characterization and phylogenetic studies, 13 and 60 sequences of the rap-1 and ema-1 genes, respectively, were used to build a dendogram using maximum parsimony. B. caballi and T. equi were detected in 4.11% and 28...
Fielding CL, Rhodes DM, Howard EJ, Mayer JR.OBJECTIVE To identify clinical or clinicopathologic variables that can be used to predict a positive PCR assay result for Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in equids. ANIMALS 162 equids. PROCEDURES Medical records were reviewed to identify equids that underwent testing for evidence of A phagocytophilum infection by PCR assay between June 1, 2007, and December 31, 2015. For each equid that tested positive (case equid), 2 time-matched equids that tested negative for the organism (control equids) were identified. Data collected included age, sex, breed, geographic location (residence at the tim...
Nugraha AB, Cahyaningsih U, Amrozi A, Ridwan Y, Agungpriyono S, Taher DM, Guswanto A, Gantuya S, Tayebwa DS, Tuvshintulga B, Sivakumar T, Yokoyama N....Equine piroplasmosis is an economically significant disease caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, which are tick-borne hemoprotozoan parasites. Infections with these parasite species had never been reported in horses in Indonesia. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of T. equi and B. caballi in horses reared in parts of Western Java, Indonesia. Blood samples were collected randomly from 235 horses in four different districts (Bandung, Depok, Tangerang, and Bogor) in Western Java, Indonesia. Thin blood smears prepared from the sampled animals were stained by G...
Díaz-Sánchez AA, Pires MS, Estrada CY, Cañizares EV, Del Castillo Domínguez SL, Cabezas-Cruz A, Rivero EL, da Fonseca AH, Massard CL....Equine piroplasmosis is a disease of Equidae, including horses, donkeys, mules, and zebras, caused by either Theileria equi or Babesia caballi. This disease represents a serious problem for the horse industry and its control is critical for the international trade of horses. The objective of the present study was to detect B. caballi and T. equi infections in horses reared in western Cuba. Blood samples from 100 horses were tested for the presence of piroplasms by using Giemsa-stained blood smears and nested PCR (nPCR) assays targeting merozoite antigen genes of B. caballi (bc48) and T. equi (...
Veronesi F, Laus F, Passamonti F, Tesei B, Piergili Fioretti D, Genchi C.The aim of the study was to investigate Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) infection in horses exposed to heavy tick infestations. Blood samples of 98 healthy horses from 5 stud farms were examined by SNAP(®) 4D× and PCR to detect antibodies against B. burgdorferi s.l. and Borrelia DNA, respectively. Ten samples (15.3%) were antibody positive and 5 samples (5.1%) were both antibody and PCR positive. Sequence analysis showed the highest homology with the B. lusitaniae genospecies. No differences were found between sexes and stud farms, while age was significantly related to seropositivity...
Camino E, Cruz-Lopez F, de Juan L, Dominguez L, Shiels B, Coultous RM.The intraerythrocytic protozoans Theileria equi and Babesia caballi are the causative agents of equine piroplasmosis (EP), one of the most important equine tick-borne diseases due to its significant impact on global international horse trade. Although EP is known to be endemic in Spain, previous phylogenetic studies have only been conducted for limited geographical regions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity and distribution of these parasite species nationwide. This was performed by amplification of the 18S small subunit (SSU) rRNA gene from 100 EP ...
Nugraha AB, Cahyaningsih U, Amrozi A, Ridwan Y, Agungpriyono S, Taher DM, Guswanto A, Gantuya S, Tayebwa DS, Tuvshintulga B, Sivakumar T, Yokoyama N....Equine piroplasmosis is an economically significant disease caused by Theileria equi and Babesia caballi, which are tick-borne hemoprotozoan parasites. Infections with these parasite species had never been reported in horses in Indonesia. The aim of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of T. equi and B. caballi in horses reared in parts of Western Java, Indonesia. Blood samples were collected randomly from 235 horses in four different districts (Bandung, Depok, Tangerang, and Bogor) in Western Java, Indonesia. Thin blood smears prepared from the sampled animals were stained by G...
Sundstrom KD, Lineberry MW, Grant AN, Duncan KT, Ientile MM, Little SE.Ticks are common on horses, but recent publications characterizing equine tick infestations in North America are lacking. Methods: To further understand attachment site preferences of common ticks of horses, and to document the seasonality of equine tick infestation in northeastern Oklahoma, horses from eight farms were evaluated twice a month over a 1-year period. Each horse was systematically inspected beginning at the head and moving caudally to the tail. Attachment sites of ticks were recorded and all ticks collected were identified to species and stage. Results: Horses (26 males and 62 fe...
Tsachev I, Baymakova M, Pantchev N.Lyme borreliosis, granulocytic anaplasmosis and monocytic ehrlichiosis are well studied in humans and dogs. In horses, these diseases are not widely investigated and limited information is available about their occurrence. The purpose of this study was to present the first ELISA-based report on the seroprevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Ehrlichia spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi in horses from Northern Bulgaria. A total of 192 horses were investigated from three regions in Northern Bulgaria (Northwestern, North-Central and Northeastern Bulgaria). All equine sera were tested for A. phagocyto...
Camino E, Schmid S, Weber F, Pozo P, de Juan L, König M, Cruz-Lopez F.Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and louping-ill virus (LIV) are two closely related zoonotic flaviviruses leading to neurological diseases and belonging to the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) serocomplex. Both viruses are transmitted by the same ixodid tick vector, Ixodes ricinus. Due to global warming affecting vector biology and pathogen transmission, the viruses pose an emerging threat for public health in Europe and Asia. These flaviviruses share some hosts, like sheep, goats and humans, although the main hosts for LIV and TBEV are sheep and small rodents, respectively. Whereas LIV has ...
Seo MG, Yun SH, Choi SK, Cho GJ, Park YS, Kwon OD, Cho KH, Kim TH, Jeong KS, Park SJ, Kwon YS, Kwak D.Equine piroplasms include two tick-borne protozoan parasites, Babesia caballi and Theileria equi. Although no clinical equine piroplasmosis has been reported in the Republic of Korea, the possible existence of the disease has been proposed due to a nationwide distribution of the vector ticks. To determine if the antibodies against B. caballi and T. equi were present, 184 sera of horses (Equus caballus) raised in the Republic of Korea from 2007 to 2010 were assessed using cELISA kits. Two (1.1%) out of 184 sera were positive for T. equi, but none were seropositive for B. caballi. Both samples t...
Chang Y, Novosol V, McDonough SP, Chang CF, Jacobson RH, Divers T, Quimby FW, Shin S, Lein DH.Eight 1-year-old ponies were vaccinated with recombinant OspA (ospA gene derived from B. burgdorferi B31) with adjuvant (aluminium hydroxide). Four ponies were used as non-vaccinated controls with adjuvant. One hundred and twelve days after the first vaccination, the vaccinated and non-vaccinated ponies were challenged by exposure to B. burgdorferi-infected adults tick (Ixodes scapularis) collected from Westchester County, New York (tick infection rate >/=60%). Protection from infection was evaluated by culture for B. burgdorferi from three monthly skin biopsies taken near the site of tick bit...
Oduori DO, Onyango SC, Kimari JN, MacLeod ET.Equine piroplasmosis is one of the most significant tick-borne disease of equids. The prevalence of this disease in donkeys of semi-arid Kenya remains largely unexplored. The primary objective of this study was to demonstrate the extent to which donkeys in Nuu division, Kenya have been exposed to the haemoprotozoans Babesia caballi and Theileria equi, the causative agents of equine piroplasmosis. The study also assessed the effect of age and sex on seroprevalence. A stratified sampling approach was used and three hundred and fourteen donkeys were sampled across nine sub-locations in Nuu divisi...
Braverman Y.The biology, veterinary importance and control of certain Nematocera are described and discussed. Culicoides spp. (family Ceratopogonidae) transmit the arboviruses of bluetongue (BT), African horse sickness (AHS), bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) and Akabane. Some other arboviruses have been isolated from these species, while fowl pox has been transmitted experimentally by Culicoides. These insects are vectors of the parasitic protozoans Leucocytozoon caulleryi and Haemoproteus nettionis, and the parasitic nematodes Onchocerca gutturosa, O. gibsoni and O. cervicalis. They also cause recurrent summ...
Pfeifer Barbosa I, Böse R, Peymann B, Friedhoff KT.Epidemiological studies of Babesia equi and B. caballi were undertaken in a herd of 120 pastured horses in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The area where the horses were held was shown to be highly endemic for both Babesia spp., i.e. the prevalence of B. equi antibodies in horses aged 6 months or older ranged from 90.6% to 100% as determined by the immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) test, and the prevalence of B. caballi antibodies as determined by Western blot ranged from 59.4% to 65.5%. From the herd, 20 foals and their dams were selected to estimate the degree of tick infestation and the foals were ...
Zeman P, Jahn P.Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick-borne rickettsial pathogen that has measurable genetic heterogeneity across its geographical range and reservoir spectrum. In the present study, publicly available sequences of the genes that have prevailingly been used for typing A. phagocytophilum were analysed to identify the segments giving the highest resolution with respect to the predictability of host and geographical provenances of the strains. Selected partial sequences of 16S rRNA, groL, msp4 and ank genes were then employed in a tentative multilocus typing scheme used to characterize the strains ...
Afridi MJK, Mian AH, Saqib M, Abbas G, Ali J, Mansoor MK, Sial AUR, Rasheed I, Hussain MH. is a tick borne protozoan parasite which causes piroplasmosis among equines worldwide. The present study was aimed to determine seroprevalence of in donkeys, horses, and mules from two equine populated districts (Peshawar and Charsadda) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan. Methods: A total of 393 equine (195 horses, 194 donkeys and 4 mules) serum samples were collected from five and four randomly selected localities in Charsadda (n = 193) and Peshawar (n = 200), respectively. The presence of antibodies to was determined using a commercially available competitive enzyme-linked immunosorben...
Sears KP, Divers TJ, Neff RT, Miller WH, McDonough SP.This case report describes a 10-year-old horse that developed multiple dermal papules over the right masseter area following removal of a tick from the same site 3 months earlier. Histological examination of a biopsy from a papule was suggestive of either a T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma or cutaneous lymphoid hyperplasia, a form of pseudolymphoma sometimes associated with a tick bite. Positive serological testing and PCR of the biopsy sample for Borrelia in conjunction with immunohistochemical testing of the skin biopsy, the clinical history and response to treatment with doxycycline strongly sup...
Müller K, König M, Thiel HJ.The tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), also known as early summer meningo-encephalitis, is a geographically limited virus infection transmitted mainly by ticks. The importance of TBE is largely underestimated. The causative agent TBE-Virus (TBEV) is grouped into the genus Flavivirus of the virus family Flaviviridae. Clinical disease including fatal outcomes has been described for men and dogs. With regard to horses only a limited number of case reports is available. In a study performed at the Institute of Virology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen serum samples from the German endemic region of M...
Staji H, Yousefi M, Hamedani MA, Tamai IA, Khaligh SG.Anaplasma spp. are among the most recognized arthropod-borne infectious agents. Although the novel A. capra has been isolated from wildlife, livestock, and hard ticks from many parts of the world, there is no report regarding the identification of this pathogen from equines and little is known about the epidemiology of A. capra in Equidae. In this study, A. capra was identified in two out of ten blood specimens of wild onagers (Equus hemionus onager) during a routine health check-up in Semnan, Iran by light microscopy and molecular analyses while other pathogens were not detected. First, inclu...
Romero-Salas D, Solis-Cortés M, Zazueta-Islas HM, Flores-Vásquez F, Cruz-Romero A, Aguilar-Domínguez M, Salguero-Romero JL, de León AP....Equine piroplasmosis is a tropical parasitic disease caused by several intraerythrocytic members of the genera Babesia and Theileria. These pathogens are transmitted by multiple tick species and are considered as important exotic microorganisms in several countries. Equine piroplasmosis causes significant economic losses due to abortions, decreased activity and even death of equines, making surveillance of these infectious disease essential. In the northern and eastern parts of Mexico, few molecular and serological reports have been made on the presence and exposure of horse to these agents. F...
Streng K, Hakze-van der Honing RW, Graham H, van Oort S, de Best PA, Abourashed A, van der Poel WHM.Zoonotic arboviruses (arthropod-borne) of the Orthoflavivirus genus, such as West Nile virus (WNV), Usutu virus (USUV) and Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), are emerging in Northwestern Europe and pose a threat to both human and animal health. In the Netherlands, passive symptomatic surveillance (notification of clinical cases) in horses is one of the main pillars for the early detection of WNV. For such passive surveillance to work properly, horse owners and veterinarians need to recognize symptoms and report suspected cases to the authorities. Currently, little is known about the seropre...
Shuaib YA, Isaa MH, Ezz-Eldin MI, Abdalla MA, Bakhiet AO, Chitimia-Dobler L.Morphological abnormalities in ticks have rarely been reported in nature. The existing knowledge about anomalies in ticks collected in Africa is very sparse. In this paper, we describe abnormalities in Amblyomma, Hyalomma, and Rhipicephalus ticks collected from cattle, sheep, goats, camels, and horses in Kassala and North Kordofan states, Sudan, between January and August 2017. A number of 15 adult ticks displayed one or several local anomalies, such as ectromely, abnormalities of the ventral plates, and body deformities, besides newly described multiple cuticula scars. This study presents th...
Sumbria D, Singla LD, Kumar S, Sharma A, Dahiya RK, Setia R.Equine piroplasmosis is a febrile, tick-borne disease of equids predominately caused by obligatory intra-erythrocytic protozoa Theileria equi in the Indian sub-continent. A cross-sectional study was carried out on 464 equids (426 horses and 38 donkeys/mules) in Punjab, India to assess the level of exposure to equine piroplasmosis by 18S rRNA gene nested polymerase chain reaction (nPCR) and equine merozoite antigen-2 (EMA2) indirect-ELISA (enzyme linked immunosorbent assay), to investigate risk factors and haemato-biochemical alterations associated with the infection. The endemicity of the dise...
Burgess H, Chilton NB, Krakowetz CN, Williams C, Lohmann K.This report describes a case of equine granulocytic anaplasmosis in a horse from Saskatchewan. Morulae were visualized within blood neutrophils, and the diagnosis was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The organism was identified as the human pathogenic strain of Anaplasma phagocytophilum by PCR and DNA sequencing of 3 independent genes. RésuméAnaplasmose granulocytaire chez un cheval de la Saskatchewan. Ce rapport décrit un cas d’anaplasmose granulocytaire chez un cheval de la Saskatchewan. Des morulas ont été visualisées dans les neutrophiles sanguins et le diagnostic a é...
Dantas-Torres F.The objective of this article was to discuss some aspects of ticks associated with domestic animals in the State of Pernambuco, northeastern Brazil, based on a literature review and present new data obtained from recent tick collections carried out in this northeastern Brazilian state. From August 2007 to June 2008, 1,405 ticks were collected and five species were identified: Amblyomma cajennense (Fabricius, 1787), Amblyomma ovale Koch, 1844, Dermacentor nitens Neumann, 1897, Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini, 1887), and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806). Dogs from urban...
Tirosh-Levy S, Gottlieb Y, Mazuz ML, Savitsky I, Steinman A.The tick-borne equine hemoparasite, Theileria equi, is endemic in many parts of the world where prevalence may be high, and most infected horses are apparently healthy but serve as life-long carriers. To determine the factors that affect T. equi dynamics, we followed parasitic loads in apparently healthy horses at four time points during one year. A total of 1094 blood samples were collected from 395 horses, along with ticks and demographic and clinical data. Infection and load of T. equi were tested by PCR and qPCR, and for the spring dataset, infection was also tested serologically by IFAT (...
Alberti A, Sparagano OA.Anaplasma phagocytophilum (A. phagocytophilum, formerly Ehrlichia phagocytophila) is a tick-borne pathogen responsible for tick-borne fever in ruminants, equine granulocytic ehrlichiosis (EGE) in horses, canine granulocytic ehrlichiosis (CGE) in dogs, and for human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE). Human cases have been registered in many countries with a broad range of symptoms and pathogenicity. This article focused on Sardinia as the prevalence in humans was almost seven times higher than in the rest of Italy. To evaluate the risk, blood samples were collected from dogs and horses on the isl...
Englund L, Pringle J.Dogs and horses are transported within the European Union for a number of reasons. The transport per se may cause physical problems, exemplified by hyperthermia in dogs and pleuropneumonia in horses, and the stress may reactivate latent infections such as canine herpesvirus-1 and equine herpesvirus-1. Preventive treatments are vital to protect dogs from ticks and mosquitoes transmitting their potentially lethal infectious agents, such as Leishmania donovani infantum, Babesia canis, Ehrlichia canis, and Dirofilaria immitis. However, records show that the travelling dogs are not fully protected ...
Françoso R, Riccio AV, Fernandes CB, Alonso MA, Belli CB.Equine piroplasmosis, disease globally responsible for significant economic losses, is caused by the transmission of the hemoprotozoa Theileria equi and Babesia caballi by ticks. Transplacental transmission has been reported previously in horses, which is not the case for mules´ foals. The present study investigated, by Real Time-PCR (RT-PCR), the presence of both Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in newborn mules before the ingestion of colostrum. Blood samples of 18 mares and their respective mules´ foals were collected and analyzed by RT-PCR. Only one mare was positive for B. caballi. In...
Mellor PS.African horse sickness (AHS) virus causes a non-contagious, infectious, arthropod-borne disease of equines and is enzootic in sub-Saharan Africa. The major vectors are species of Culicoides but mosquitoes and ticks may be involved. Periodically the virus makes excursions beyond its enzootic zones but until recently has not been able to maintain itself outside these areas for more than 2-3 consecutive years. This is probably due to a number of factors including the absence of a long term vertebrate reservoir, the prevalence and seasonal incidence of the vectors and the efficiency of control mea...
