Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2022

Eco-epidemiology of equine piroplasmosis in French draft horses in an enzootic area

Résumé

For vector-borne diseases, an ‘eco-epidemiological’ approach is essential to better understand the relationships between the pathogen, the hosts, the vectors and the environment, as well as to allow the determination of risk factors with limited bias, and therefore develop appropriate measures of surveillance, prevention or control. Thus, our objective was to study the eco-epidemiology of Babesia caballi and Theileria equi infections responsible for equine piroplasmosis in French draft horses, and for which very few multivariate studies, especially about the effect of environmental parameters on equid infections, were conducted up to now. From April to May 2021, we collected blood samples and ticks from 147 draft horses randomly selected from 38 farms, located in four departments in the Center and South-East of France. Questing ticks were also collected using the flagging method on the pastures of horses. Studied areas were chosen due to a high circulation of B. caballi and T. equi, a high density of draft horses, and heterogeneous environmental conditions. Collected ticks were identified by morphological characterisation, and identification was confirmed by RT-PCR. Pathogen detection was performed by PCR on both collected ticks and blood samples, the latter also being tested for the presence of antibodies against each parasite by ELISA tests. Data related to environment (altitude, vegetation type, and meteorological data), breeding practices (vaccination status, parasite control…), and individual horse characteristics (breed, age, sex) were collected. Risk factors were determined through generalized linear models. Out of the 147 horses included in this study, 56.5% were infested by ticks, with a median of 1 (range 0-151) tick per horse. A total of 1048 ticks, belonging to the species Dermacentor reticulatus (58.2%), Dermacentor marginatus (23.0%) and Ixodes ricinus (18.8%), were collected on the horses (906 ticks) and on the pastures (142 ticks). Ticks infection by B. caballi and T. equi are under analysis. Regarding the horses infectious status, 14.4% and 50.7% of the sampled horses had a positive PCR result and 58.9% and 37.2% were seropositive against B. caballi and T. equi, respectively. Statistical analyses of risk factors related to individual and environmental parameters, and breeding practices are currently being conducted. The identification of potentially relevant risk factors will provide both recommendations for limiting tick infestation in horses, and the implementation of targeted methods against equine piroplasmosis infections.

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Dates et versions

hal-04482555 , version 1 (28-02-2024)

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  • HAL Id : hal-04482555 , version 1

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Clémence Nadal, Maud Marsot, Claire Chanet, Claire Delaunay, Pierre-Hugues Pitel, et al.. Eco-epidemiology of equine piroplasmosis in French draft horses in an enzootic area. 10th Tick and Tick-borne Pathogen Conference, Aug 2022, Murighiol, Romania. ⟨hal-04482555⟩
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