Prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi infection in horses from Pennsylvania (2017-2019) using antibody and organism-based detection.
Abstract: To determine the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi infections in Pennsylvania horses. 271 horses. A survey was conducted with PCR and serology to evaluate anaplasmosis and Lyme disease infections in horses from Pennsylvania that were suspected for tick-borne infection. A phagocytophilum was detected in 19/271 (7.0%) Pennsylvania horses tested by the duplex PCR. B burgdorferi was not detected in any horse blood tested by PCR. Overall, 120/271 (44.3%) horses tested positive for presence of A phagocytophilum antibodies by at least the IDEXX SNAP 4Dx Plus lateral flow immunosorbent (SNAP) or indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) assay, with 69 (25.5%) testing positive by both SNAP and IFA; 43 (15.9%) tested positive by IFA only, and 8 (3.0%) tested positive by SNAP only. Similarly, 209/271 (77.1%) horses tested positive for the presence of B burgdorferi antibodies by at least 1 test, with 139 (51.3%) testing positive by both SNAP and IFA; 45 (16.6%) tested positive by SNAP only, and 25 (9.2%) tested positive by IFA. Both A phagocytophilum and B burgdorferi are important tick-borne infections. The study provides prevalence data for both A phagocytophilum and B burgdorferi and compares test performance. For serologic detection, IFA detected antibodies to A phagocytophilum in a higher proportion (41.3%) of horses compared to SNAP (28.4%), while SNAP detected antibodies to B burgdorferi in a higher proportion (67.9%) of horses compared to IFA (60.5%). Both diseases showed a high seroprevalence in all areas surveyed.
Publication Date: 2022-09-09 PubMed ID: 36094906DOI: 10.2460/javma.22.06.0232Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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This research article discusses the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi infections in 271 horses of Pennsylvania using PCR and serology tests, comparing their performance and providing important prevalence data.
Objective of Research
- The primary aim of the research was to assess the prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi infections in horses from Pennsylvania. These infections are typically transmitted via ticks.
Methods
- The research team screened blood samples from 271 horses that were suspected of having tick-borne infections. They employed both PCR and serology to test for these infections.
- They utilized two test techniques – IDEXX SNAP 4Dx Plus lateral flow immunosorbent (SNAP) and indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) – for the detection of antibodies against A phagocytophilum and B burgdorferi.
Results
- Out of the 271 horses tested, Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected in 19 (7.0%) horses using the duplex PCR method. No horse tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi infection using PCR testing.
- Regarding serological detection, 120 horses (44.3%) tested positive for the presence of A phagocytophilum antibodies by at least one of the tests (SNAP or IFA). Of these, 69 (25.5%) tested positive by both SNAP and IFA; 43 (15.9%) tested positive by IFA only, and 8 (3.0%) tested positive by SNAP only.
- Similarly, 209 horses (77.1%) tested positive for the presence of B burgdorferi antibodies using at least one test. Among these, 139 (51.3%) tested positive by both SNAP and IFA; 45 (16.6%) tested positive by SNAP only, and 25 (9.2%) tested positive by IFA only.
Conclusion
- The study confirms that both Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi are important tick-borne infections in the horse population of Pennsylvania. Both infections showed a high seroprevalence in all areas surveyed.
- It also provides a comparison between different detection methods. IFA was more successful in detecting antibodies to A phagocytophilum (41.3% of horses), while SNAP detected more cases of antibodies to B burgdorferi (67.9% of horses).
Cite This Article
APA
Thompson D, Thirumalapura NR, Tewari D.
(2022).
Prevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi infection in horses from Pennsylvania (2017-2019) using antibody and organism-based detection.
J Am Vet Med Assoc, 260(14), 1834-1838.
https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.22.06.0232 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
MeSH Terms
- Horses
- Animals
- Anaplasma phagocytophilum
- Borrelia burgdorferi
- Ehrlichiosis / epidemiology
- Ehrlichiosis / veterinary
- Seroepidemiologic Studies
- Prevalence
- Pennsylvania
- Antibodies, Bacterial
- Lyme Disease / diagnosis
- Lyme Disease / epidemiology
- Lyme Disease / veterinary
- Tick-Borne Diseases / epidemiology
- Tick-Borne Diseases / veterinary
- Horse Diseases
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