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Case Reports
. 2020 Jul;11(4):101452.
doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101452. Epub 2020 Apr 21.

Natural Theileria equi infection in captive Tapirus terrestris (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) in the Brazilian Amazon

Thamirys de Souza Gonçalves  1 , Flávia de Nazaré Leite Barros  1 , Larissa Saori Inoue  1 , Diana Maria de Farias  1 , Jaqueline Dos Santos Lima  1 , Adriana Vasconcelos Nobre  1 , Eveline Simões Azenha Aidar  2 , Rafael Romeu Ferreira Diniz  3 , Ana Paula Gering  3 , Alessandra Scofield  4
Affiliations
Case Reports

Natural Theileria equi infection in captive Tapirus terrestris (Perissodactyla: Tapiridae) in the Brazilian Amazon

Thamirys de Souza Gonçalves et al. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2020 Jul.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to detect natural Theileria equi infection in captive tapirs (Tapirus terrestris) in the Brazilian Amazon. Samples from 19 captive tapirs were collected from zoological and botanical gardens and conservation parks in the Pará (n = 18) and Amazonas (n = 1) states. Whole-blood samples were collected for subsequent screening of T. equi DNA by PCR using the BEC-UF2 and EQUI-R primer set. Microscopic analyses of blood smears revealed T. equi trophozoites in 37% (7/19) of the animals examined, and T. equi DNA was detected in 58% (11/19) of the blood samples analyzed. Sequencing of amplified PCR products revealed an identity with T. equi isolates obtained from horses and waterbuck available in GenBank. In conclusion, T. equi infection occurs in captive tapirs in the Brazilian Amazon, and these mammals could potentially act as reservoirs.

Keywords: Brazil; Tapirus terrestris; Theileria equi.

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