title: Prevalence and molecular detection of Anaplasma marginale, Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina in cattle from Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica.
abstract: A study was conducted in 2008 to determine the prevalence of Anaplasma and Babesia infections in cattle in the Puntarenas Province of Costa Rica. Blood samples were taken from a total of 449 cattle during the month of March at 30 farms in the region of Espiritu Santu, Costa Rica. Commercially available enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) were used to determine presence of antibodies to Babesia bigemina and Anaplasma marginale, and real-time PCR was used to determine the presence of DNA from the disease-causing organisms. The ELISA results indicated that 87.5% of the cattle sampled were positive for antibodies to A. marginale, while 59.1% were positive for antibodies to B. bigemina. The real-time PCR results showed that 235 cattle were carrying A. marginale DNA (56.9%), 6 with B. bigemina DNA (1.34%), and 2 with B. bovis DNA (0.45%).
authors.affiliation: Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA. shebish@purdue.edu
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Shebish
authors.forename: Ramesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vemulapalli
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Oseto
mesh_terms: D042322:Anaplasma marginale / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D000818:Animals; D001403:Babesia / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001404:Babesiosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002417:Cattle; D003364:Costa Rica / Q000453:epidemiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary