Veterinary Archives, Vol. 81 No. 5, 2011.
Original scientific paper
Molecular detection of Trypanosoma evansi in cattle from Quirino Province, Philippines
Waren N. Baticados
; Department of Veterinary Paraclinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
Cherry P. Fernandez
; Department of Veterinary Paraclinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
Abigail M. Baticados
; Department of Veterinary Paraclinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of the Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
Abstract
Trypanosoma evansi is a protozoan parasite which ubiquitously infects livestock in the Philippines. The study depicts an initial report of livestock trypanosomes in cattle from the province of Quirino, Philippines using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Out of 246 field blood samples from apparently healthy cattle collected from five municipalities of Quirino Province, Philippines, 3/246 (1.22%) were established positive for T. evansi using PCR. The positive animals identified were from the municipality of Saguday (3/42; 7.14% prevalence). These were composed of one female and two males species and belonged to variable age groups (1.1-2 yrs, 2.1-3 yrs and >3 yrs). In addition, the data on the physical examination of the sampled animals using the nine-point scale body condition scoring system showed that the top three body condition scores (BCS) were 3[Very thin, (107/246; 43.50%)], 4[Thin, (75/246; 30.50%)] and 2[Emaciated, (46/246; 18.70%)]. Furthermore, the data showed that majority of the animals in Diffun and Saguday were thin (BCS 4) while
most of the animals in Cabarroguis and Maddela and Aglipay were classified under BCS 3(Very thin) and BCS 2(Emaciated) respectively. Consequently, all the Trypanosoma evansi positive animals appeared thin (BCS= 4) and were from the municipality of Saguday. No parasites were observed after blood parasite examination (BPE). The study provides information on the first report of T. evansi cases in cattle from Quirino Province located
in Region 2 of the Philippines. Consequently the data also presents the first molecular detection of T. evansi infection in cattle in the province of Quirino, Philippines.
Keywords
Trypanosoma evansi; surra; blood parasite; polymerase chain reaction; Quirino Province; Philippines
Hrčak ID:
72963
URI
Publication date:
20.10.2011.
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