Abstract
The study determined the positivity rate of Trypanosoma evansi and Neospora caninum antibodies in water buffaloes in the province of Nueva Ecija, Philippines using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) for T. evansi and competitive Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (cELISA) for N. caninum antibodies . A total of 100 whole blood and 100 serum samples were collected to test for T. evansi and N. caninum , respectively. Rotat 1.2 VSG gene was target using PCR for T. evansi detection. Neospora caninum antibody detection was done from the serum samples using cELISA test kit. Results revealed that the positivity rate of T. evansi in Nueva Ecija was 11% (11/100). The positive animals identified were from the municipalities of Munoz (4/16; 25%), Sta. Rosa (3/13; 23.08%) and Talugtug (4/16; 25%). The seropositive rate of Nueva Ecija for N. caninum. was 46% (46/100), seropositive animals were identified in Cabanatuan City, 57.14% (4/7); Science City of Munoz, 43.14% (22/51); Sta. Rosa, 40% (4/10); Sto. Sunday, 50% (6/12); and Talugtug 50% (10/20). The seropositivity rate of N. caninum and the presence of T. evansi in Nueva Ecija may contribute to the cases of abortions in the province and further studies should be employed to confirm the association of these organisms to abortion cases on water buffaloes.
Highlights
Philippine water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is one of the most important livestock in many developing countries due to its adaptability to hot and humid tropical areas (Villanueva et al, 2016)
A total of 100 extracted DNA samples from water buffalo blood were tested for the presence of T. evansi using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and showed an overall positivity rate of 11% (11/100) in Nueva Ecija
San Leonardo tested negative for T. evansi infection
Summary
Philippine water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) is one of the most important livestock in many developing countries due to its adaptability to hot and humid tropical areas (Villanueva et al, 2016). In the Philippines, the population of water buffalo is about 2.88 million heads (PSA, 2016), majority of the contributors are smallholder farmers who prefer water buffalo as a livestock animal over cattle for its ability to perform optimally under relatively adverse environmental conditions (De Alwis et al, 1999) and considered more resistant to several bovine tropical diseases (Warriach et al, 2015). Despite these merits, water buffaloes are not excused from infectious agents that cause abortion leading to a compromised reproductive efficiency. Few studies have been carried out on the identification of agents causing abortion in livestock animals, such studies focus mainly on cattle (Bombio et al, 2010, Konnai et al, 2008, Ochirkhuu et al, 2015) and limited on water buffaloes
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