The presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection was studied in Italian horses exposed to heavy tick infestations. Blood samples of 98 Tolfetano healthy horses from 5 stud farms were examined by SNAP® 4Dx and PCR to detect antibodies against B. burgdorferi s.l. and Borrelia DNA, respectively. Ten samples (15.3%) were antibody positive and 5 samples (5.1%) were both antibody and PCR positive. The sequence analysis showed the highest homology with B. lusitaniae genospecies. No differences were found between sexes and stud farms, while age was a categorical variable significantly related to seropositivity (p<0.05). This is the first survey of B. burgdorferi s.l infection in Italian horses.
Occurrence of Borrelia lusitaniae infection in horses
LAUS, Fulvio;TESEI, Beniamino;
2012-01-01
Abstract
The presence of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato infection was studied in Italian horses exposed to heavy tick infestations. Blood samples of 98 Tolfetano healthy horses from 5 stud farms were examined by SNAP® 4Dx and PCR to detect antibodies against B. burgdorferi s.l. and Borrelia DNA, respectively. Ten samples (15.3%) were antibody positive and 5 samples (5.1%) were both antibody and PCR positive. The sequence analysis showed the highest homology with B. lusitaniae genospecies. No differences were found between sexes and stud farms, while age was a categorical variable significantly related to seropositivity (p<0.05). This is the first survey of B. burgdorferi s.l infection in Italian horses.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
