Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Trypanosoma evansi infection detected in dogs from India
By Nguyen, Viet-Linh et al.·Published in Acta tropica·2021·Department of Veterinary Medicine, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular detection of Trypanosoma evansi in dogs from India and Southeast Asia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that 10 out of 672 dogs tested in India and Southeast Asia had a parasite called Trypanosoma evansi, which can cause a disease known as surra. This parasite is mainly spread by biting flies and can affect several animals, including dogs. The positive cases were mostly from India, Indonesia, and Malaysia, with no infections found in dogs from the Philippines, Thailand, or Vietnam. The findings suggest that cattle and buffaloes in these regions are likely the main source of the infection for dogs. If you notice symptoms like fever, weakness, or swelling in your dog, it's important to consult your veterinarian for testing and treatment options.
Abstract
Trypanosoma evansi, the causative agent of surra, is a hemoflagellate protozoan mechanically transmitted by hematophagous flies, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. This protozoan affects several mammalian hosts, including dogs, which are highly susceptible to the infection. To investigate the occurrence of T. evansi in dogs, a total of 672 DNA samples from India (n = 228), Indonesia (n = 57), Malaysia (n = 45), the Philippines (n = 103), Thailand (n = 120), and Vietnam (n = 119) were screened by using species-specific conventional PCR. Of the tested dogs, 10 (1.5%) scored positive to T. evansi. In particular, positive samples were detected in canine blood samples collected from India (n = 4; 1.8%), Indonesia (n = 4; 7%), and Malaysia (n = 2; 4.4%). All tested samples from the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam were negative. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed a high variation (i.e. from 0.4% to 6.2%) among the RoTat 1.2 variant surface glycoprotein (vsg) gene. Although the number of sequences included in this analysis is relatively small, this nucleotide variation may indicate the divergence of T. evansi RoTat 1.2 vsg gene among different strains. The high incidence of T. evansi previously reported in cattle and buffaloes in India and Southeast Asia suggests that these animals are the main source of infection to dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33930300/