Horses naturally infected by Trypanosoma vivax in southern Brazil.
In this study, we reported the first outbreak of the infection by Trypanosoma vivax in horses in southern Brazil, a non-endemic region where bovines have only recently been found infected by this trypanosome species. We evaluated 12 horses from a farm in southern Brazil, where four horses displayed pale mucous membranes, fever, weight loss, and swelling of abdomen, prepuce, or vulva. The diagnosis of T. vivax was confirmed in four horses by morphological parameters of trypomastigotes in blood smears and species-specific PCR. All T. vivax-infected animals showed anemia, and most showed increased levels of beta-1, beta-2, and gamma globulins. Horses were treated with diminazene aceturate, but cure was not achieved, and the disease relapsed after therapy. These findings demonstrated that Brazilian T. vivax isolates, which were already reported infecting cattle, buffaloes, goats, and sheep, can be highly pathogenic for horses, causing severe disease and even death of the animals due to the recurrence of the infection.
Da Silva
Aleksandro S
AS
Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Universidade Federal de Santa Maria, Faixa de Camobi-Km 9, Campus Universitário, Prédio 20, Sala 4232, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, 97105-900. aleksandro_ss@yahoo.com.br
Garcia Perez
Herakles A
HA
Costa
Márcio M
MM
França
Raqueli T
RT
De Gasperi
Diego
D
Zanette
Régis A
RA
Amado
João A
JA
Lopes
Sonia T A
ST
Teixeira
Marta M G
MM
Monteiro
Silvia G
SG
D000740:Anemia / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary; D000818:Animals; D001769:Blood / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology* / Q000473:pathology; D006736:Horses / Q000469:parasitology*; D012712:Serum Globulins / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology; D016689:Trypanosoma vivax / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014353:Trypanosomiasis, African / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*
D012712:Serum Globulins
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