Seroepidemiological survey of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi in horses from a rural and from urban areas of Paraná State, southern Brazil.

This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi in horses from a rural settlement and carriage horses from urban areas in Brazil. The results showed a high prevalence of both parasites, with 97.5% of horses testing positive for at least one.

Sampling and Testing

• The researchers conducted a total of 198 sampling tests on horses in Brazil, with 32 from a rural settlement and the remaining 166 being carriage horses from various urban areas.
• The testing was done using a commercial competitive inhibition ELISA (cELISA) test, a widely accepted and used method to detect certain antigens.

Results

• Out of 198 horses, 193 were seropositive to at least one type of the piroplasm species; these seropositive horses had been exposed to the parasites and developed antibodies against them.
• The findings showed a specific prevalence rate, where 78.3% was seropositive to T. equi, 69.2% was seropositive to B. caballi, and 50% were seropositive to both.
• The data suggested that horses in rural areas and Colombo were more likely to be seropositive to T. equi compared to those in Curitiba.
• The results also indicated that horses older than 5 years were more likely to be seropositive to T. equi, but found no significant association between the horses’ gender or presence of ticks and seropositivity to T. equi.

Conclusion and Implications

• The study concluded that there’s a considerably high prevalence of both B. caballi and T. equi infections among horses in the surveyed areas.
• The authors emphasize the importance of active surveillance programs for monitoring animal health, especially since carriage horses can potentially transmit these piroplasms in urban areas.