An epidemiological survey of bovine Babesia and Theileria parasites in cattle, buffaloes, and sheep in Egypt. Issue 1 (February 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Elsify, Ahmed; Sivakumar, Thillaiampalam; Nayel, Mohammed; Salama, Akram; Elkhtam, Ahmed; Rizk, Mohamed; Mosaab, Omar; Sultan, Khaled; Elsayed, Shimaa; Igarashi, Ikuo; Yokoyama, Naoaki
• Is Part Of: Parasitology international. Volume 64:Issue 1(2015:Feb.)
• Page Start: 79
• Page End: 85
• Publication Date: 2015-02
• Subjects: Parasitology -- Periodicals; Parasites -- Periodicals; Parasitic Diseases -- Periodicals; Parasitology -- Periodicals; Parasitologie -- Périodiques; 571.99905
• DOI: 10.1016/j.parint.2014.10.002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1383-5769

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="author" id="ab0005"> <title id="st0005">Abstract</title> <sec> <p id="sp0005">Cattle, buffaloes, and sheep are the main sources of meat and milk in Egypt, but their productivity is thought to be greatly reduced by hemoprotozoan parasitic diseases. In this study, we analyzed the infection rates of <italic>Babesia bovis</italic>, <italic>Babesia bigemina</italic>, <italic>Theileria annulata</italic>, and <italic>Theileria orientalis</italic>, using parasite-specific PCR assays in blood–DNA samples sourced from cattle (n = 439), buffaloes (n = 50), and sheep (n = 105) reared in Menoufia, Behera, Giza, and Sohag provinces of Egypt. In cattle, the positive rates of <italic>B. bovis</italic>, <italic>B. bigemina</italic>, <italic>T. annulata</italic>, and <italic>T. orientalis</italic> were 3.18%, 7.97%, 9.56%, and 0.68%, respectively. On the other hand, <italic>B. bovis</italic> and <italic>T. orientalis</italic> were the only parasites detected in buffaloes and each of these parasites was only found in two individual DNA samples (both 2%), while one (0.95%) and two (1.90%) of the sheep samples were positive for <italic>B. bovis</italic> and <italic>B. bigemina</italic>, respectively. Sequence analysis showed that the <italic>B. bovis</italic> Rhoptry Associated Protein-1 and the <italic>B. bigemina</italic> Apical Membrane Antigen-1 genes were highly conserved among the samples, with 99.3–100% and 95.3–100% sequence identity values, respectively. In contrast, the Egyptian <italic>T. annulata</italic> merozoite surface antigen-1 gene sequences were relatively diverse (87.8–100% identity values), dispersing themselves across several clades in the phylogenetic tree containing sequences from other countries. Additionally, the <italic>T. orientalis</italic> Major Piroplasm Surface Protein (<italic>MPSP</italic>) gene sequences were classified as types 1 and 2. This is the first report of <italic>T. orientalis</italic> in Egypt, and of type 2 <italic>MPSP</italic> in buffaloes. Detection of <italic>MPSP</italic> type 2, which is considered a relatively virulent genotype, suggests that <italic>T. orientalis</italic> infection may have veterinary and economic significance in Egypt. In conclusion, the present study, which analyzed multiple species of <italic>Babesia</italic> and <italic>Theileria</italic> parasites in different livestock animals, may shed an additional light on the epidemiology of hemoprotozoan parasites in Egypt.</p> </sec> </abstract>