Evidence of Horse Exposure to Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Leishmania infantum in Greece through the Detection of IgG Antibodies in Serum and in an Alternative Diagnostic Sample-The Saliva.
Abstract: Among the various zoonotic pathogens that infect horses, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia spp. and Leishmania spp. have gained scientific interest, and relevant molecular and serological studies in horses have been conducted worldwide. Moreover, human and veterinary medicine have extensively applied alternatives to serum diagnostic samples-such as saliva-for detecting pathogens or antibodies. In this study, we investigated the exposure of horses in Greece to A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi, and L. infantum, and we assessed the diagnostic accuracy of saliva compared to serum in detecting IgG antibodies against the abovementioned pathogens. Paired saliva and serum samples were collected from 317 horses from different regions in Greece. The paired samples were examined using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) for detecting IgG antibodies against A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi, and L. infantum. Sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR) were determined to assess the validity of saliva as an alternative to serum. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve revealed that the optimal cut-off value for detecting antibodies against all the examined pathogens in saliva was 1/10. Higher seropositivity rates were found for B. burgdorferi (15.14%) and A. phagocytophilum (14.19%) compared to L. infantum (1.26%). The detection of IgG antibodies using IFAT in saliva samples had a good test performance compared to serum. The two sample types had a substantial to almost perfect agreement. Although the sensitivity was moderate (70.83-75.56%) in all cases, the specificity was almost perfect to perfect (99.63-100%). This study provides the first evidence that horses in Greece are exposed to A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi and confirms that the seroprevalence of L. infantum in horses in Greece remains low. Our findings suggest that saliva sampling coupled with IFAT could be successfully applied for detecting IgG antibodies against these important zoonotic pathogens in large-scale epidemiological studies in horses, at the population level, as an alternative to serum.
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This research article explores the exposure of horses in Greece to Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Leishmania infantum diseases, and compares the use of saliva to serum for detecting IgG antibodies against these diseases.
Research Background and Objective
The research was driven by an interest in zoonotic pathogens like Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Leishmania infantum that infect horses. These pathogens have recently attracted scientific interest and numerous studies have been conducted on them globally.
The study intended to examine the exposure of horses in Greece to these pathogens and to see how effective saliva is as a diagnostic medium compared to serum in detecting IgG antibodies against these diseases.
Conduct of the Study
Saliva and serum samples were collected from 317 horses from different regions in Greece.
The samples were tested using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) to detect IgG antibodies against the three pathogens.
Evaluation measures used included sensitivity – the ability to correctly identify positive cases, specificity – the ability to correctly identify negative cases, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR). These helped to evaluate the validity of using saliva as opposed to serum.
A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn, based on which the optimal cut-off value for detecting antibodies in saliva was set at 1/10.
Research Findings
The pathogens were found in the horses with varying prevalence rates. Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected in 15.14% of the horses, Borrelia burgdorferi in 14.19%, while Leishmania infantum was only found in 1.26% of the horses.
Despite its moderate sensitivity (70.83-75.56%), saliva was found to be a reliable and accurate medium for detecting the pathogens, with an almost perfect specificity (99.63-100%).
Implications of the Study
The study provided the first evidence of exposure of horses in Greece to Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, but confirmed that the seroprevalence of Leishmania infantum remains low.
The researchers concluded that saliva sampling along with IFAT can be successfully used to detect IgG antibodies against these zoonotic pathogens in large-scale epidemiological studies at a population level, offering an alternative to serum.
Cite This Article
APA
Athanasiou LV, Katsogiannou EG, Tyrnenopoulou P, Gougoulis D, Apostolidis KN, Papadakis SM, Kokkinaki KCG, Papatsiros VG, Tsokana CN.
(2023).
Evidence of Horse Exposure to Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Leishmania infantum in Greece through the Detection of IgG Antibodies in Serum and in an Alternative Diagnostic Sample-The Saliva.
Biomolecules, 13(9).
https://doi.org/10.3390/biom13091374
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