Veterinarska stanica, Vol. 53 No. 5, 2022.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.46419/vs.53.5.9
The first description of ram infection with rickettsiae Anaplasma ovis in the Republic of Croatia
Tomislav Šarić
; Department of Ecology, Agronomy and Aquaculture, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia
Ana Beck
; Zagreb, Croatia
Ivo Taraš
; Veterinary Practice Benkovac d.o.o., Benkovac, Croatia
Ante Šuto
; Veterinary Practice Benkovac d.o.o., Benkovac, Croatia
Denis Orlović
; Veterinary Practice Benkovac d.o.o., Benkovac, Croatia
Daria Jurković
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Relja Beck
; Croatian Veterinary Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
In late May 2015, a sample of ram blood with suspected piroplasmosis from the vicinity of Benkovac was delivered to the Laboratory for Parasitology of the Croatian Veterinary Institute in Zagreb, Croatia. Therapy with Imidocarb (Imizol 0.5 mL s/c) and oxytetracycline (Geomycin retard 5 mL i/m) was started immediately, with supportive therapy with vitamins AD3E and B-complex. The health status improved and clinical signs disappeared after five days, and the ram fully recovered. Peripherally located intraerythrocyte bodies were found in the blood smear, and Anaplasma ovis was confirmed by sequencing the 16S rRNA and MSP4 gene, while the DNA of other pathogens was not present. This research proved the presence of A. ovis in Croatia and in Southeast Europe for the first time. Of the eight species of Anaplasma recognized today, small ruminant anaplasmosis is caused by three species, A. phagocytophilum, A. capra and A. ovis, and to date only A. phagocytophilum has been proven in Croatia. According to veterinarians from the Benkovac Veterinary practice, the described clinical signs of the disease are common in sheep and rams introduced from non-endemic areas and have never been observed in animals younger than five months. It should be emphasized that in addition to Imisol, veterinarians in the Benkovac area always treat sick sheep with tetracyclines, the drug of choice for Anaplasma treatment, and sick animals are successfully cured if treatment is administered within five days of the onset of clinical signs. The vector is the tick Rhipicephalus bursa, which is present throughout the Republic of Croatia and was also found on the infected ram, so it is to be expected that the causative agent is also present elsewhere in Croatia.
Keywords
Anaplasma ovis; ram; clinical signs, molecular detection; Benkovac
Hrčak ID:
268222
URI
Publication date:
20.12.2021.
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