Employment of the 18s rRNA screening PCR technique in the detection of Equine Piroplasmosis, in horses of sports and military operations, of the Brazilian Army

C.P Sousa,J.G.B Soares

doi:10.1590/1678-4162-10087

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present work had the objective of detecting the occurrence of Equine Piroplasmosis in horses housed in the 3rd Guards Cavalry Regiment (GCR) - Brazilian Army (BA) ˗ Porto Alegre, RS-Brazil, as well as to demonstrate the proactivity of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) technique, aiming at the judicious use of the resources involved in the training and employment of Equines in the Brazilian Army. Fifty horses of the 3rd GCR - Porto Alegre ˗ RS, which are employed for Sport, Military Ceremonial, Law and Order Guarantee Operations (LOGO), were evaluated by means of the 18s r RNA screening with PCR technique, thirty eight horses with Babesia Caballi and Theileria Equi were detected, which corresponds to an incidence of 76% of the horses effective analyzed at the time. In this way, it can be verified that the Military activity have its "performance and effectiveness" factors threatened in case the health of the principal of his means employed, that is the horse, is compromised. The PCR technique then offers a reliable and feasible tool for the detection of Equine Piroplasmosis in BA horses.

Highlights

Equine Piroplasmosis is a tick-transmitted intra erythrocytic parasitic disease of horses, the small piroplasm of horses (Bruning, 1996), long known as Babesia Equi, is already commonly designated associated with fever, hemolyticB
The aim of this study was the application of the18s r RNA screening with PCR method, in addition to its economic viability, sensitivity and selectivity, and in the future can be recommended for use in the Military Units of the Brazilian Army (BA), for the diagnosis of Equine Piroplasmosis
The sequences obtained were edited in the CHROMA software, and similarity levels were analyzed through the Basic Local Alignment Search Tool (BLAST) program in order to verify the identity with other corresponding sequences available in Gen Bank

Summary

Introduction

Equine Piroplasmosis is a tick-transmitted intra erythrocytic parasitic disease of horses, the small piroplasm of horses (Bruning, 1996), long known as Babesia Equi, is already commonly designated associated with fever, hemolytic. Equi, are presented in temperate as well as in tropical regions. Fourteen species of ixodid ticks of the genera. Dermacentor, Hyalomma, and Rhipicephalus have been identified worldwide as vectors of either T. (Garci et al, 2004) Caballi. (Garci et al, 2004)

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