Field investigation of Trypanosoma evansi and comparative analysis of diagnostic tests in horses from Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Abstract

In order to assess the prevalence ofTrypanosoma evansi , a parasitological, molecular, and serological-based investigation wascarried out in randomly sampled horses (n = 375) belonging to different age groups, sexes, and localities from the district of Bahawalpur,Pakistan. The diagnostic performance of applied tests was also compared. The prevalence was recorded as 0.5% with Woo s test, 1.3%with both ITS CF/BR PCR and RoTat 1.2 PCR, and 14.4% with CATT/ T.evansi . Based on CATT/ T.evansi , significant differences (P ≤0.05) were observed for prevalence estimates according to different localities, sexes, body condition scores, and origins. A nonsignificantdifference (P ≥ 0.05) was observed among different age groups and variable parity numbers. Our study declares district Bahawalpur tobe a high risk area for surra and proposes the potential use of CATT/ T.evansias a field test of choice for surveys in horses. However, thestatus of seropositive animals should be confirmed using a more sensitive molecular tool such as the satellite DNA target. A widespreadstatus of anti- Trypanosomaantibodies calls for control measures and further investigation of various species (camels, cattle, sheep, goats,buffaloes) inhabiting the same area to identify reservoir status.