RESUMO
In this study, the prevalence of piroplasms in dogs was assessed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify Babesia and Theileria species in 200 dogs from Northern and Central Tunisia between spring and autumn 2014. The overall molecular prevalence for piroplasms was 14·5% ± 0·05 (29/200); PCR detected 2 species, namely Babesia vogeli and Theileria annulata with an overall prevalence of 12·5 ± 0·04 and 2% ± 0·02, respectively. No differences in the molecular prevalences of B. vogeli were revealed for age and sex (P > 0·05). The molecular prevalence of B. vogeli was significantly higher in central Tunisia (26·5% ± 0·01) compared with the North (9·6% ± 0·04) (P 0·05). Comparison of the partial sequences of 18S rRNA and Tams 1 genes confirmed the presence of 2 novel B. vogeli and T. annulata genotypes. This is the first molecular detection of T. annulata and genetic characterization of dogs' piroplasms in Tunisia. Further studies are needed to better assess the epidemiological feature of piroplasms infection in North Africa.
Assuntos
Babesia/isolamento & purificação , Babesiose/epidemiologia , Doenças do Cão/epidemiologia , Theileria/isolamento & purificação , Animais , Babesia/classificação , Babesia/genética , Babesiose/parasitologia , Análise por Conglomerados , DNA de Protozoário/química , DNA de Protozoário/genética , DNA Ribossômico/química , DNA Ribossômico/genética , Doenças do Cão/parasitologia , Cães , Epidemiologia Molecular , Filogenia , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase , Prevalência , Proteínas de Protozoários/genética , RNA Ribossômico 18S/genética , Estações do Ano , Análise de Sequência de DNA , Theileria/classificação , Theileria/genética , Tunísia/epidemiologiaRESUMO
We examined 210 spur-thighed tortoises (Testudo graeca) for the presence of ticks in Tunisia during May 2014. A total number of 602 adult ticks were collected and identified leading to the estimation of parasitological indicators. All the ticks belonged to a single species: Hyalomma aegyptium. The mean infestation prevalence was 66.2%, mean overall infestation intensity and abundance were 4.33 and 2.86 ticks/tortoise respectively. Our survey showed that tortoises were significantly more infested by male ticks than females (p<0.001). The ticks were mainly present in the posterior limbs compared to other body regions (p<0.05). There was no significance variation of length and weight of tortoises according to sex (p<0.05). There was a significant correlation between the tortoises' size (length and weight) and tick infestation. This study showed high tick burdens of spur-thighed tortoises in Tunisia; further investigations are needed to determine exactly the role of this tick species in the transmission of different zoonotic pathogens.