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application/pdf, Babesia venatorum, formerly known as Babesia sp. EU1, is a zoonotic hemoprotozoan parasites that commonly infects deer. In the present study, we investigated B. venatorum infection in Ixodes persulcatus, an important tick vector capable of transmitting several tick-borne pathogens that cause babesiosis, encephalitis, tularemia, and Lyme diseases. DNA samples extracted from questing I. persulcatus ticks (n=63) that had been collected in Selenge province of Mongolia in 2012 and 2013 were screened for B. venatorum using a nested PCR assay. The findings showed that two of 63 DNA samples were positive for B. venatorum. The 18S rRNA sequences amplified from B. venatorum-positive DNA samples shared high identity scores (96.1–99.9%) with known B. venatorum sequences derived from human and tick isolates. In phylogenetic analysis, the Mongolian 18S rRNA sequences clustered with the previously characterized B. venatorum sequences. In addition to reporting B. venatorum in Mongolia for the first time, the present study identifies I. persulcatus as a potential vector of this zoonotic Babesia in Mongolia. Additional studies to investigate the prevalence of B. venatorum in deer, humans, and ticks in different geographical regions are essential to understand the epidemiology of this parasite species in Mongolia.

application/pdf, Toxoplasma gondii is an important zoonotic parasite. The diagnosis of infection in animals is an important tool to prevent human infection. In the present study, Toxoplasma gondii was diagnosed by using the modified agglutination test (MAT) in ducks from Behera Governorate, Egypt. The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii was 13.9%. The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii was the highest in the Native breed (17.65%) and in 6-8-months age group (19.4%). End-point titer of 1:25, 1:50, and 1:100 were recorded in 61.9%, 19.05%, and 19.05% of the positive samples, respectively. Duck meat is one source of the Toxoplasma gondii infection for human in Egypt.

application/pdf, Oligomannose-coated liposome (OML)-based vaccines have been reported to induce Th1-based immunity against entrapped antigens in immunized animals and to show protective effects against several protozoal diseases. In the present study, we produced a recombinant Babesia rodhaini ribosomal phosphoprotein P0 (rBrP0) that showed immunological cross reactivity with another rodent Babesia parasite, B. microti. We evaluated the efficacy of vaccination with OML-entrapped rBrP0 on B. rodhaini and B. microti infections in mice. Prior immunization with the OML-based rBrP0 vaccine, or with a Freund’s adjuvant-based rBrP0 vaccine, failed to demonstrate any protective effect against lethal infection with B. rodhaini, but the OML-based vaccine did induce protective immunity against B. microti infection, based on a reduction in peak parasitemia levels and prompt clearance of the parasite, compared with control mice. OML might be an effective adjuvant for future vaccines aimed at the control of severe domestic babesioses.

In vitro culture, spectrophotometry, agarose gel electrophoresis and polymerase chain reaction were used to detect Babesia equi parasites. A ten-fold serial dilution of a 10% parasitemic culture was done to simulate low levels of parasitemia characteristic of sub-clinical and chronic infections in live animals. The various dilutions were cultured in horse erythrocytes suspended in 60% M199 growth medium, 40% horse serum and incubated in microaerophilus environment. In 3 days, parasitemia could be detected in dilutions of up to 0.1% while it took 5 days for dilutions up to 0.001%. Absorbance readings of DNA extracted from 7 day old cultures read at 260nm in a spectrophotometer corresponded directly with levels of parasitemia. Similar observation was made when such DNA material was examined in 1.5% agarose gel electrophoresis. Polymerase chain reaction of these cultures and purified genomic DNA yielded 260 base pair fragments diagnostic of B. equi infection. Spectrophotometry and agarose gel electrophoresis only indicate presence of DNA material in the sample, but in vitro culture and PCR are specific for B. equi and can be used as alternative diagnostic methods for low parasitemic levels. The Kenya Veterinarian Vol. 29 2005: pp. 25-28