title: Retrospective study of hemoparasites in cattle in southern Italy by reverse line blot hybridization.
abstract: Tick-borne diseases are widespread in tropical and temperate regions and are responsible for important economic losses in those areas. In order to assess the presence and prevalence of various pathogens in southern Italy, we retrospectively analyzed cattle blood samples collected for a previous study in 2000 using reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization. The study had been carried out in three regions of southern Italy on 1,500 randomly selected and apparently healthy adult cattle. RLB showed that 43.7% of the cattle were positive for nine different species of hemoparasites with either a single infection or a mixed infection. Theileria buffeli was the most common species found, being present in 27.3% of the animals, followed by Anaplasma marginale in 18.1%, Anaplasma centrale in 13.8%, Babesia bigemina and Anaplasma bovis in 4.2%, Anaplasma phagocytophilum in 1.7%, Babesia bovis in 1.6%, Babesia major in 0.2% and Babesia divergens in 0.1%. Complete blood counts showed different degrees of anemia in 363 animals (24.2%) and of these, 169 were RLB-positive for at least one pathogen. Among the ticks that were collected from the cattle, the following species were identified: Rhipicephalus bursa, Ixodes ricinus, Hyalomma marginatum, Boophilus annulatus, Dermacentor marginatus and Haemaphysalis (sulcata, parva, inermis and punctata). The results obtained confirmed the spread of endemic tick-borne pathogens in the regions studied.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento dell'Emergenza e dei Trapianti di Organi, Sezione Cliniche Veterinarie e Produzioni Animali, Università degli Studi di Bari "Aldo Moro", Strada per Casamassima Km 3, 70010 Valenzano (Bari), Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ceci
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Iarussi
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Greco
authors.forename: Rosanna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lacinio
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fornelli
authors.forename: Grazia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Carelli
mesh_terms: D000709:Anaplasma; D000818:Animals; D001403:Babesia; D001772:Blood Cell Count / Q000662:veterinary; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D010273:Parasitic Diseases, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013045:Species Specificity; D016794:Theileria; D013984:Tick Infestations / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*