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Raising small ruminants is the main source of income for farmers in Pakistan especially in rural areas of Dera Ghazi Khan in Punjab. Despite having large sheep population, the prevalence of intra-erythrocytic protozoa, Theileria (T.) lestoquardi, has never been reported from this area. This study was conducted to fill this knowledge gap and 333 blood samples of apparently healthy small ruminants (168 sheep and 165 goats) along with their epidemiological data were collected from Dera Ghazi Khan district during August till November 2022. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis amplified a 785 base pair amplicon specific for the Merozoite surface antigen (ms 1–2) gene of T. lestoquardi in 2 out of the 168 (3.3%) sheep blood samples, while no goat blood sample out of 165 was found to be infected with T. lestoquardi. DNA sequencing confirmed the presence of Theileria lestoquardi in both samples and phylogenetic analysis revealed that these amplicon resembled the partial ms 1–2 gene sequences detected in small ruminants from Pakistan, India Iran and Egypt. All the studied epidemiological factors (age, sex, breed, size of herd, dogs with herd, composition of herd, size of herd and Tick burden on sheep) were not found associated with the prevalence of T. lestoquardi. In conclusion, this study reports a low prevalence of T. lestoquardi infection in the Dera Ghazi Khan District of Punjab, Pakistan. The data generated from this work will help pave the way for the prophylactic detection and control of ovine and caprine theileriosis in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ticks are ectoparasites belonging to the phylum Arachnida infesting humans and animals. Besides their parasitic role, ticks also spread multiple bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases because of their vector role. Hyalomma is a major genus of ticks containing species of zoonotic and pathogenic significance. Control of the ticks is the primary importance, but chemical acaricides are being avoided because of resistance and one health-related issue. In this study, acaricidal and repellent activities of the ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts of Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) have been evaluated against the ticks of Hyalomma genus. Each extract was serially diluted to have 1.25, 2.5, 5, and 10% concentrations. The parameters taken were adult mortality, larval mortality, egg hatchability and product effectiveness. The results suggested that the ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts had statistically comparable (P>0.05) effects on adult mortality (tick immersion), larval mortality (larval immersion test), egg hatchability and tick repellency parameters. This research also revealed that extracts of N. tabacum were also comparable to (P>0.05) standard medicated control at the highest concentrations. Ethanolic and ethyl acetate extracts had significantly (P<0.05) different acaricidal effects from the blank control at 10% concentration. This research suggests that the N. tabacum can be used as an acaricidal and tick-repellent agent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helminths are widespread infectious agents, causing severe economic and performance losses in all animals, especially donkeys. Strongylus (S.) vulgaris and Fasciola (F.) hepatica are abundantly present in the equines. Their control using herbal is being necessitated because of the resistance of parasites towards routinely used chemicals. In this study, 60 positive animals were divided equally into 4 groups, each having three replicates named A, B, C, and D. Donkeys in groups A, B, and C received 1200, 1000, and 800 mg/kg mixture of 4 plants of family Apiaceae while the group D was kept as non-medicated control. The medication of the animals was done for 4 weeks. Fecal, hematological, and hepato-renal function-related serum samples were collected on days 0, 14, and 28 of the experiment to estimate the effects of herbal mixture on fecal egg count reduction, red blood cell counts, white blood cells, hemoglobin, packed cell volume, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate transferase, serum proteins, serum albumins, urea, and creatinine. The donkeys were weighed at the start and end of the trial to estimate the effect of the herbal mixture on weight gain. The results suggested that total helminth, S. vulgaris, and F. hepatica egg counts were significantly (p<0.05) less than the control group. Herbal mixture significantly (p<0.05) improved the red blood cells, packed cell volume, hemoglobin, total proteins, albumins, and weight gains of the donkeys treated with 1200 mg/kg herbal mixture. The results suggested that the herbal mixture from the plants of the family Apiaceae was effective in controlling the helminths and improving hematological and serological parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poultry sector is facing multiple challenges among which infectious diseases are major hindrances. Coccidiosis, especially cecal coccidiosis is the most prominent disease because of its acute nature and high mortality. Controlling through synthetic chemicals and ionophores is becoming less effective, botanicals especially essential oils are being considered for the control of coccidiosis. In this study, broiler birds at day 10 of age were divided into 6 groups. Three concentrations of flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) essential oil 1, 2 and 3% (v/w) were administered orally to estimate their anticoccidial effects compared to toltrazuril medicated, infected non-medicated, and non-infected non-medicated controls. Oocysts per gram of feces, oocyst score, fecal score, lesion score, feed conversion ratio, weight gain, complete blood profile, and liver and renal function-related serum parameters were evaluated. Analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test were used to compare the means and analyze statistically. The results showed that flaxseed essential oil had significant (p<0.05) anticoccidial activity in reducing oocysts per gram, oocyst score, fecal score, and lesion score. There was a significant decrease in mortalities, while weight gain and FCR were also improved by therapy of flaxseed essential oil at a concentration of 3%. Flaxseed essential oil also showed significant positive effects on red blood cell counts, packed cell volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and hemoglobin concentration. Total proteins and albumins were significantly (p<0.05) increased by the flaxseed essential oil while other serum-related parameters remained in the normal range. The results suggest that the flaxseed essential oil can be used for the control of coccidiosis in broiler birds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of Theileria spp. infecting sheep and goats were investigated in two cities and surroundings in northwest Saudi Arabia. Blood samples from 403 sheep and goats from Madina ( n = 201) and Tabuk ( n = 202) cities (177 from sheep and 226 from goats) were investigated. Blood samples were examined microscopically for the presence of intraerythrocytic bodies suggestive of Theileria as well as they were investigated using molecular techniques. DNA was extracted from blood and ticks and subjected to polymerase chain reaction amplification using specific primers. The primers used amplified a fragment of the 18S rRNA region (450 bp) targeting the hypervariable region IV. A total of 63 ticks belonging to five species were collected from sheep and goats for determination of their involvement of lifecycle of Theileria . Ticks were identified morphologically and confirmed molecularly utilizing cytochrome oxidase C subunit 1 gene (COXI) amplification. The results indicated that: microscopic examination revealed 24 (6%) of the samples investigated showed intraerythrocytic bodies suggestive of Theileria . Positive samples were only obtained from sheep whereas goats yielded negative results. A total of 33 (18.6%) sheep samples were positive for Theileria infection using polymerase chain reaction targeting the partial 18S rDNA and DNA sequencing. Theileria infection was more prevalent in animals that were less than 2 years of age compared with older animals. There was no difference in the prevalence of the infection between male and female sheep in both cities. All positive sheep were detected during the summer and none of the samples collected during the winter were positive. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the sequences obtained from Theileria species reported in the present study grouped with sequences from Theileria ovis from different countries. Ticks were identified as Hyalomma dromedarii , Hyalomma, marginatum , Hyalomma impeltatum and Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum . T. ovis DNA was detected from Hyalomma dromedarii and Hyalomma impeltatum suggesting that they are potential vectors of this piroplasm in sheep from Madina and Tabuk cities. This report is considered the first report of T. ovis infecting sheep from Madina and Tabuk, furthermore, it is the first report determining the vectors responsible for transmission of the infection in sheep in northwest Saudi Arabia. The data generated from this study will undoubtedly pave the way for the detection and control of ovine and caprine theileriosis in Madina and Tabuk regions., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests., (© 2024 Almahallawi et al.)