Abstract
Direct diagnoses were made by using - blood smears and nested PCR (nPCR) tests on 309 blood samples from crossbred dairy cattle in the municipality of Ibicaraí, Bahia. From diagnostic blood smear slides, the observed parasitic frequencies were 31.1% for Anaplasma marginale and 20.4% for Babesia sp. From nPCR diagnoses, they were 63% for A. marginale, 34% for Babesia bigemina and 20.4% for Babesia bovis. There were significant differences (P <0.01) between the two diagnostic methods (nPCR and blood smear slides). The compliance obtained from the kappa test was 0.41 and 0.48 for A. marginale and Babesia sp., respectively. The tick samples from the six farms analyzed using nPCR were only positive for A. marginale. Evaluation of the risk factors relating to the presence of ticks and the age of the animals showed that there was a significant association (P <0.01) with the frequency of animals infected with both pathogens. Therefore, under the conditions studied, nPCR proved to be a good tool for diagnosing the agents of the bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis complex because of its sensitivity and specificity in comparison with blood smears. The municipality of Ibicaraí is an area with endemic prevalence of bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis confirmed by nPCR and A. marginale is the main agent of the disease.
Highlights
In Brazil, the main etiological agents of the bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis (BBA) complex are Anaplasma marginale Theiler, 1910, Babesia bovis Babes, 1888, and B. bigemina Smith; Kilborne, 1893
The municipality of Ibicaraí is an area with endemic prevalence of bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis confirmed by nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (nPCR) and A. marginale is the main agent of the disease
The analysis on 309 blood samples from cattle, that were subjected to nPCR, showed that 195 (63.1%) were positive for A. marginale, 105 (34%) for B. bigemina and 63 (20.4%) for B. bovis
Summary
In Brazil, the main etiological agents of the bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis (BBA) complex are Anaplasma marginale Theiler, 1910, Babesia bovis Babes, 1888, and B. bigemina Smith; Kilborne, 1893. The main vectors of Babesia are Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) ticks (BOCK et al, 2004). Anaplasma marginale is transmitted mechanically via blood-contaminated fomites or mouthparts of biting flies (SHIMADA et al, 2004). Biological transmission of A. marginale is effected by ticks. The tick vectors of A. marginale include Rhipicephalus spp., Dermacentor spp. (D. albipictus, D. andersoni, D. hunteri, D. occidentalis and D. variabilis) and Ixodes ricinus, while Amblyomma spp. do not appear to transmit A. marginale (KOCAN et al, 2004). Transovarial transmission has been reported for some ticks, it has not been demonstrated for R. microplus (RIBEIRO et al, 1996; KESSLER, 2001)
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