title: Seroepidemiological survey of trypanozoon infection in horses in the suspected dourine-infected Bale highlands of the Oromia region, Ethiopia.
abstract: This paper presents the results of a seroepidemiological survey of trypanozoon infection in horses carried out between September 2007 and June 2008. The survey was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of anti-trypanozoon antibodies in 880 serum samples collected randomly from selected horse-breeding districts of the Bale highlands of Ethiopia. The seroprevalence of trypanozoon infection was found to be 173 (19.66%) and 140 (15.91%) for the CATT/T. evansi and LATEX/T. evansi tests, respectively. The high seroprevalence of trypanozoon infection strongly indicates that the infection is endemic. Neither test can differentiate between anti-trypanozoon antibodies caused by infection with T. equiperdum (the causative agent of dourine) and those of T. evansi (the causative agent of surra). The findings of the present study suggest that field-applicable screening serological tests such as the CATT/T. evansi and LATEX/T. evansi could be useful for epidemiological studies and the control of trypanozoon infection.
authors.affiliation: Addis Ababa University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathology and Parasitology, P.O. Box 34, Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. hagos83@yahoo.com
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hagos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Degefa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yacob
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fikru
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Alemu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Feseha
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Claes
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Goddeeris
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D019353:Endemic Diseases / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000662:veterinary*; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014345:Trypanosoma / Q000276:immunology*; D014352:Trypanosomiasis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan