Original Research

Prevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi infections in horses belonging to resource-poor farmers in the north-eastern Free State Province, South Africa

M. Y. Motloang, O. M.M. Thekisoe, A. Alhassan, M. Bakheit, M. P. Motheo, F. E.S. Masangane, M. L. Thibedi, N. Inoue, I. Igarashi, C. Sugimoto, P. A. Mbati
Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research | Vol 75, No 2 | a12 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/ojvr.v75i2.12 | © 2008 M. Y. Motloang, O. M.M. Thekisoe, A. Alhassan, M. Bakheit, M. P. Motheo, F. E.S. Masangane, M. L. Thibedi, N. Inoue, I. Igarashi, C. Sugimoto, P. A. Mbati | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 30 August 2008 | Published: 31 August 2008

About the author(s)

M. Y. Motloang, Parasitology Research Programme, University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, Phuthaditjhaba, 9866 South Africa, South Africa
O. M.M. Thekisoe, National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan, Japan
A. Alhassan, National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan
M. Bakheit, Parasitology Research Programme, University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, Phuthaditjhaba, 9866 South Africa
M. P. Motheo, Parasitology Research Programme, University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, Phuthaditjhaba, 9866 South Africa
F. E.S. Masangane, Parasitology Research Programme, University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, Phuthaditjhaba, 9866 South Africa
M. L. Thibedi, Parasitology Research Programme, University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, Phuthaditjhaba, 9866 South Africa
N. Inoue, National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan
I. Igarashi, National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan
C. Sugimoto, Center for Zoonosis Control, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, 060-0818 Japan, Japan
P. A. Mbati, Parasitology Research Programme, University of the Free State, Qwaqwa Campus, Phuthaditjhaba, 9866 South Africa

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Abstract

The prevalence of Theileria equi and Babesia caballi infections in the north-eastern Free State Province of South Africa was determined by examination of thin and thick Giemsa-stained blood smears, IFAT and PCR. No parasites were detected by microscopy from any blood samples collected at five study sites, Qwaqwa, Kestell, Harrismith, Vrede and Warden. Of the tested serum samples, 28/29 (96.5%), 20/21 (95.2%) nd 42/42( 100%) were positive by IFAT for T. equi infections in Harrismith, Kestell and Qwaqwa, respectively, and 5/29 (17.2%), 13/21 (61.9%) and 30/42 (71.4%) were sero-positive for B. caballi infections in Harrismith, Kestell and Qwaqwa, respectively A. ll DNA samples from the study sites were negative for B. caballi infections by PCR, but five samples, two from each of Kestell and Warden and one from Vrede, were PCR positive for T. equi infections. The high prevalence of antibodies against T. equi and B. caballiin the sampled horses indicates that the animals had been exposed to T. equi and B. caballi infections but the absence of parasitaemia and very low number of positive PCR samples, however, imply that T. equi and B. caballie are endemically stable in the north-eastern Free State Province.

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