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Couto LFM, Bastos TSA, Morais IMLD, Salvador VF, Leal LLLL, Falavigna RB, Spricigo JFW, Mota RA, Cruz BC, Colli MHA, Scarpa AB, Soares VE, Ferreira LL, Lopes WDZ. Reproductive, productive and financial consequences of chronic Trypanosoma vivax infection in a dairy cattle herd in a region without a cyclic vector. Vet Parasitol 2024; 330:110221. [PMID: 38878461 DOI: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2024.110221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2024] [Revised: 06/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
This study evaluated the reproductive, productive and financial consequences of chronic Trypanosoma vivax infection in a dairy cattle herd located in a region without the cyclic vector during two years. Animals were categorized as either positive (chronically infected) or negative for T. vivax antibodies using a commercial rapid test. Additionally, serum samples from cows were analyzed for the presence of anti-Neospora caninum antibodies. Pregnancy diagnoses were performed through rectal palpation and ultrasonography after 30, 60 and every 21 days until the 144th day of pregnancy. If an abortion occurred in the final trimester, serology and cPCR were performed on calves for T. vivax and N. caninum. The breeding period, calving interval and pregnancy losses were recorded. The milk production of each animal during the 305 days of lactation was measured, and the annual financial impact of milk production was calculated using a revenue minus feed cost (RMFC) indicator. Out of 177 cows, 71.75 % were chronically infected, and 13.50 % were T. vivax-negative. No correlation (p = 0.8854) of co-infection between T. vivax and N. caninum was observed. Negative cows required fewer (p≤0.05) artificial inseminations than chronically infected ones. T. vivax was not significantly associated (p = 0.7893) with pregnancy loss up to 81 days of pregnancy. Cows chronically infected by T. vivax had 4-fold greater chance (p = 0.0280) of experiencing pregnancy loss between 82 and 144 days of gestation. Eighteen cows aborted, two were positive for T. vivax antibodies, and one for N. caninum antibodies. The calves were negative for T. vivax and N. caninum. Chronically infected cows and negative cows for T. vivax that experienced pregnancy loss (82-144 days of pregnancy) had a longer (p≤0.05) breeding period to become pregnant, and consequently a longer calving interval compared to cows that maintained pregnancy. The difference (p≤0.05) in milk production was evident when pregnancy loss occurred between 82 and 144 days of gestation in cows chronically infected by T. vivax. The RMFC indicated a negative impact of 38.2 % on the farm's annual milk revenue due to the presence of chronically infected cows.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Thiago Souza Azeredo Bastos
- Escola de Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil; Faculdade Anhanguera, Anápolis, Goiás, Brazil
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Rinaldo Aparecido Mota
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Breno Cayero Cruz
- Departamento de Patologia Veterinária, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | | | - Lorena Lopes Ferreira
- Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Welber Daniel Zanetti Lopes
- Escola de Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil; Departamento de Biociências e Tecnologia, Instituto de Patologia Tropical e Saúde Pública, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil.
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Risk factors for equine trypanosomosis and hematological analysis of horses in Paraguay. Acta Trop 2022; 233:106543. [PMID: 35643185 DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2022.106543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Animal trypanosomosis, caused by Trypanozoon trypanosomes (Trypanosoma evansi and T. equiperdum), and Trypanosoma vivax, is endemic to South American countries and has a negative impact on the livestock industry. However, the risk factors for trypanosomosis in Paraguay remain unknown. This study aimed to determine the risk factors for equine trypanosomosis in Paraguay based on a PCR-based molecular survey and individual horse sampling data. In this study, 739 blood samples were collected from horses in 16 departments of Paraguay between August 2019 and November 2020. To elucidate the risk factors for trypanosome infection, the relationship between trypanosome infection status detected by PCR and the location, sex, age, breed of horses, and season of sample collection was analyzed. There were no significant differences in trypanosome prevalence in horses between the eastern and western regions, ages, or breeds of horses in Paraguay. Sex and season were identified as risk factors for trypanosome infection in horses in Paraguay in the current study. These results suggest that the rainy-summer season, when vectors increase in number and their blood-sucking activity, could be the most important risk factor for trypanosome infection in Paraguay horses. Preventive measures and treatments should be developed to address these factors.
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Contreras Garcia M, Walshe E, Steketee PC, Paxton E, Lopez-Vidal J, Pearce MC, Matthews KR, Ezzahra-Akki F, Evans A, Fairlie-Clark K, Matthews JB, Grey F, Morrison LJ. Comparative Sensitivity and Specificity of the 7SL sRNA Diagnostic Test for Animal Trypanosomiasis. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:868912. [PMID: 35450136 PMCID: PMC9017285 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.868912] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal trypanosomiasis (AT) is a significant livestock disease, affecting millions of animals across Sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South America, and Asia, and is caused by the protozoan parasites Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma vivax, and Trypanosoma congolense, with the largest economic impact in cattle. There is over-reliance on presumptive chemotherapy due to inadequate existing diagnostic tests, highlighting the need for improved AT diagnostics. A small RNA species, the 7SL sRNA, is excreted/secreted by trypanosomes in infected animals, and has been previously shown to reliably diagnose active infection. We sought to explore key properties of 7SL sRNA RT-qPCR assays; namely, assessing the potential for cross-reaction with the widespread and benign Trypanosoma theileri, directly comparing assay performance against currently available diagnostic methods, quantitatively assessing specificity and sensitivity, and assessing the rate of decay of 7SL sRNA post-treatment. Results showed that the 7SL sRNA RT-qPCR assays specific for T. brucei, T. vivax, and T. congolense performed better than microscopy and DNA PCR in detecting infection. The 7SL sRNA signal was undetectable or significantly reduced by 96-h post treatment; at 1 × curative dose there was no detectable signal in 5/5 cattle infected with T. congolense, and in 3/5 cattle infected with T. vivax, with the signal being reduced 14,630-fold in the remaining two T. vivax cattle. Additionally, the assays did not cross-react with T. theileri. Finally, by using a large panel of validated infected and uninfected samples, the species-specific assays are shown to be highly sensitive and specific by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, with 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 96.44-100%) and 100% specificity (95% CI, 96.53-100%), 96.73% (95% CI, 95.54-99.96%) and 99.19% specificity (95% CI, 92.58-99.60%), and 93.42% (95% CI, 85.51-97.16% %) and 82.43% specificity (95% CI, 72.23-89.44% %) for the T brucei, T. congolense and T. vivax assays, respectively, under the conditions used. These findings indicate that the 7SL sRNA has many attributes that would be required for a potential diagnostic marker of AT: no cross-reaction with T. theileri, high specificity and sensitivity, early infection detection, continued signal even in the absence of detectable parasitaemia in blood, and clear discrimination between infected and treated animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Contreras Garcia
- Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Emily Walshe
- Roslin Technologies Limited, Roslin Innovation Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Pieter C Steketee
- Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Edith Paxton
- Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Javier Lopez-Vidal
- Ashworth Laboratories, Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Michael C Pearce
- Global Alliance for Livestock Veterinary Medicines, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Keith R Matthews
- Ashworth Laboratories, Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Karen Fairlie-Clark
- Roslin Technologies Limited, Roslin Innovation Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Jacqueline B Matthews
- Roslin Technologies Limited, Roslin Innovation Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Finn Grey
- Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - Liam J Morrison
- Roslin Institute, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
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