Prevalence of <i>Theileria</i> and <i>Babesia</i> species in Tunisian sheep
In this study, the prevalence of Theileria and Babesia species in sheep was assessed with Giemsastained blood smear examination and polymerase chain reaction to identify the different piroplasms in 270 sheep from three Tunisian bioclimatic zones (north, centre, and south). The overall infection prev...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AOSIS
2016-05-01
|
| Series: | Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research |
| Online Access: | https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/1040 |
| _version_ | 1811256787775520768 |
|---|---|
| author | Mohamed R. Rjeibi Mohamed A. Darghouth Mohamed Gharbi |
| author_facet | Mohamed R. Rjeibi Mohamed A. Darghouth Mohamed Gharbi |
| author_sort | Mohamed R. Rjeibi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this study, the prevalence of Theileria and Babesia species in sheep was assessed with Giemsastained blood smear examination and polymerase chain reaction to identify the different piroplasms in 270 sheep from three Tunisian bioclimatic zones (north, centre, and south). The overall infection prevalence by Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. in Giemsa-stained blood smears was 2.9% (8/270) and 4.8% (13/270) respectively. The molecular results showed that sheep were more often infected by Theileria ovis than Babesia ovis with an overall prevalence of 16.3% (44/270) and 7.8% (21/270) respectively (p = 0.01). The molecular prevalence by Babesia ovis was significantly higher in females than in males (p < 0.05). According to localities B. ovis was found exclusively in sheep from the centre of Tunisia (Kairouan) whereas Theileria ovis was found in all regions. Infections with T. ovis and B. ovis were confirmed by sequencing. The sequence of T. ovis in this study (accession numbers KM924442) falls into the same clade as T. ovis deposited in GenBank. The T. ovis amplicons (KM924442) showed 99%–100% identities with GenBank sequences. Moreover, comparison of the partial sequences of 18S rRNA gene of B. ovis described in this study (KP670199) revealed 99.4% similarity with B. ovis recently reported in northern Tunisia from sheep and goats. Three nucleotides were different at positions 73 (A/T), 417 (A/T), and 420 (G/T). It also had 99% identity with B. ovis from Spain, Turkey and Iraq. The results suggest a high T. ovis prevalence in Tunisia with a decreasing north-south gradient. This could be correlated to the vector tick distribution. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:46:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c64d9be563c344bb896150f79edef89e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0030-2465 2219-0635 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T17:46:34Z |
| publishDate | 2016-05-01 |
| publisher | AOSIS |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-c64d9be563c344bb896150f79edef89e2022-12-22T03:22:39ZengAOSISOnderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research0030-24652219-06352016-05-01831e1e610.4102/ojvr.v83i1.1040520Prevalence of <i>Theileria</i> and <i>Babesia</i> species in Tunisian sheepMohamed R. Rjeibi0Mohamed A. Darghouth1Mohamed Gharbi2Institution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education, Laboratory of Parasitology, National School of Veterinary Medicine, Manouba University, Tunisia; Department of Biology, Carthage University, TunisiaInstitution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education, Laboratory of Parasitology, National School of Veterinary Medicine, Manouba UniversityInstitution of Agricultural Research and Higher Education, Laboratory of Parasitology, National School of Veterinary Medicine, Manouba UniversityIn this study, the prevalence of Theileria and Babesia species in sheep was assessed with Giemsastained blood smear examination and polymerase chain reaction to identify the different piroplasms in 270 sheep from three Tunisian bioclimatic zones (north, centre, and south). The overall infection prevalence by Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. in Giemsa-stained blood smears was 2.9% (8/270) and 4.8% (13/270) respectively. The molecular results showed that sheep were more often infected by Theileria ovis than Babesia ovis with an overall prevalence of 16.3% (44/270) and 7.8% (21/270) respectively (p = 0.01). The molecular prevalence by Babesia ovis was significantly higher in females than in males (p < 0.05). According to localities B. ovis was found exclusively in sheep from the centre of Tunisia (Kairouan) whereas Theileria ovis was found in all regions. Infections with T. ovis and B. ovis were confirmed by sequencing. The sequence of T. ovis in this study (accession numbers KM924442) falls into the same clade as T. ovis deposited in GenBank. The T. ovis amplicons (KM924442) showed 99%–100% identities with GenBank sequences. Moreover, comparison of the partial sequences of 18S rRNA gene of B. ovis described in this study (KP670199) revealed 99.4% similarity with B. ovis recently reported in northern Tunisia from sheep and goats. Three nucleotides were different at positions 73 (A/T), 417 (A/T), and 420 (G/T). It also had 99% identity with B. ovis from Spain, Turkey and Iraq. The results suggest a high T. ovis prevalence in Tunisia with a decreasing north-south gradient. This could be correlated to the vector tick distribution.https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/1040 |
| spellingShingle | Mohamed R. Rjeibi Mohamed A. Darghouth Mohamed Gharbi Prevalence of <i>Theileria</i> and <i>Babesia</i> species in Tunisian sheep Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research |
| title | Prevalence of <i>Theileria</i> and <i>Babesia</i> species in Tunisian sheep |
| title_full | Prevalence of <i>Theileria</i> and <i>Babesia</i> species in Tunisian sheep |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of <i>Theileria</i> and <i>Babesia</i> species in Tunisian sheep |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of <i>Theileria</i> and <i>Babesia</i> species in Tunisian sheep |
| title_short | Prevalence of <i>Theileria</i> and <i>Babesia</i> species in Tunisian sheep |
| title_sort | prevalence of i theileria i and i babesia i species in tunisian sheep |
| url | https://ojvr.org/index.php/ojvr/article/view/1040 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mohamedrrjeibi prevalenceofitheileriaiandibabesiaispeciesintunisiansheep AT mohamedadarghouth prevalenceofitheileriaiandibabesiaispeciesintunisiansheep AT mohamedgharbi prevalenceofitheileriaiandibabesiaispeciesintunisiansheep |