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Open AccessArticle

Comparative Study of the Use of Doxycycline and Oxytetracycline to Treat Anaplasmosis in Fattening Lambs

by Delia Lacasta, Héctor Ruiz, Aurora Ortín, Sergio Villanueva-Saz, Agustín Estrada-Peña, José María González, Juan José Ramos, Luis Miguel Ferrer, Alfredo Ángel Benito, Raquel Labanda, Carlos Malo, María Teresa Verde, Antonio Fernández and Marta Ruiz de Arcaute

Animals 2022, 12(17), 2279; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12172279 - 2 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3272

Abstract

Lamb icteric carcasses condemnation due to Anaplasma ovis is causing relevant economic losses. A comparative study was developed on the effects of different antibiotics to treat ovine anaplasmosis in fattening lambs. A total of 100 A. ovis naturally infected lambs were selected and randomly divided into four groups of 25 lambs: Group ID, treated with injectable doxycycline; Group OD, oral doxycycline; Group O, injectable oxytetracycline; and Group C, untreated animals for the control group. Clinical, haematological, and molecular analyses were performed before the treatment and 12 and 45 days after the beginning of the treatments, and carcass condemnation was followed after slaughter. The A. ovis bacterial load was high before the treatments in the four groups and decreased significantly 45 days after treatment in the ID and O Groups (p < 0.001). The parameters that were related to haemolysis showed similar results. At the abattoir, 15 out of the 47 examined carcasses were condemned; 7 of C Group, 6 of OD Group, 2 of O Group, and 0 of ID Group. It can be concluded that injectable doxycycline and oxytetracycline significantly reduce A. ovis bacterial load in blood and carcass condemnation at the abattoir. Further studies are needed in order to confirm these encouraging findings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anaemia Associated Disorders in Sheep)

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20 pages, 1007 KB

Open AccessArticle

Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma ovis–Emerging Pathogens in the German Sheep Population

by Benjamin Ulrich Bauer, Cristian Răileanu, Oliver Tauchmann, Susanne Fischer, Christina Ambros, Cornelia Silaghi and Martin Ganter

Pathogens 2021, 10(10), 1298; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10101298 - 9 Oct 2021

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 10674

Abstract

Knowledge on the occurrence of pathogenic tick-borne bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Anaplasma ovis is scarce in sheep from Germany. In 2020, owners from five flocks reported ill thrift lambs and ewes with tick infestation. Out of 67 affected sheep, 55 animals were clinically examined and hematological values, blood chemistry and fecal examinations were performed to investigate the underlying disease causes. Serological tests (cELISA, IFAT) and qPCR were applied to all affected sheep to rule out A. phagocytophilum and A. ovis as a differential diagnosis. Ticks were collected from selected pastures and tested by qPCR. Most animals (n = 43) suffered from selenium deficiency and endoparasites were detected in each flock. Anaplasma spp. antibodies were determined in 59% of examined sheep. Seventeen animals tested positive for A. phagocytophilum by qPCR from all flocks and A. phagocytophilum was also detected in eight pools of Ixodes ricinus. Anaplasma phagocytophilum isolates from sheep and ticks were genotyped using three genes (16S rRNA, msp4 and groEL). Anaplasma ovis DNA was identified in six animals from one flock. Clinical, hematological and biochemical changes were not significantly associated with Anaplasma spp. infection. The 16S rRNA analysis revealed known variants of A. phagocytophilum, whereas the msp4 and groEL showed new genotypes. Further investigations are necessary to evaluate the dissemination and health impact of both pathogens in the German sheep population particularly in case of comorbidities. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Animal Vector-Borne Diseases)

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13 pages, 1354 KB

Open AccessArticle

Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Anaplasma spp. in German Small Ruminant Flocks

by Wiebke Rubel, Clara Schoneberg, Annika Wolf, Martin Ganter and Benjamin Ulrich Bauer

Animals 2021, 11(10), 2793; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102793 - 25 Sep 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 4153

Abstract

Knowledge about the distribution of Anaplasma spp. in small ruminants from Germany is limited. Therefore, serum samples were examined from 71 small ruminant flocks (2731 sheep, 447 goats) located in the five German federal states: Schleswig-Holstein (SH), Lower Saxony (LS), North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW), Baden-Wuerttemberg (BW) and Bavaria (BAV). Antibodies to Anaplasma spp. were determined by a cELISA based on the MSP5 antigen. A risk factor analysis at animal and flock level was also performed. Antibodies to Anaplasma spp. were detected in 70/71 flocks without significant difference in the intra-flock prevalence (IFP) between the federal states. The mean antibody levels from sheep were significantly lower in northern Germany (LS, SH) compared to west (NRW) and south Germany (BW, BAV). Sheep had a 2.5-fold higher risk of being seropositive than goats. Females and older animals (>2 years) were more likely to have antibodies to Anaplasma spp. in one third and one quarter of cases, respectively. Flocks used for landscape conservation had a five times higher risk of acquiring an IFP greater than 20%. Cats and dogs on the farms increased the probability for small ruminant flocks to have an IFP of above 20% 10-fold and 166-fold, respectively. Further studies are necessary to assess the impact of Anaplasma species on the health of small ruminants in Germany. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Diseases of Small Ruminants)

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11 pages, 1060 KB

Open AccessArticle

Epidemiological Study Related to the First Outbreak of Ovine Anaplasmosis in Spain

by Delia Lacasta, Miguel Lorenzo, José María González, Marta Ruiz de Arcaute, Alfredo Ángel Benito, Cristina Baselga, María Eugenia Milian, Nuria Lorenzo, Calasanz Jiménez, Sergio Villanueva-Saz and Luis Miguel Ferrer

Animals 2021, 11(7), 2036; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11072036 - 8 Jul 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 4934

Abstract

Ovine anaplasmosis is a vector-borne disease caused by Anaplasma ovis and mainly transmitted through tick bites. In Spain, the first outbreak of ovine anaplasmosis occurred in 2014. An epidemiological study in fifty-one farms was carried out associated with this outbreak in the affected geographical area. An epidemiological questionnaire was performed. In addition, whole blood samples were taken for molecular analysis in 47 of these farms to determine the prevalence of infection of Anaplasma ovis. A. ovis was present in 44 out of 47 PCR-analysed farms (93.6%). However, only 40.4% of the studied farms showed severe clinical signs. The clinical signs affected mainly young animals, which showed severe anaemia, weakness, anorexia, cachexia and epiphora. The early culling of young animals was more frequently reported by severely affected farms than the analysed farms without clinical signs (71.4% vs. 12.5%, p < 0.001). The geographical area where the farm is located seems to be relevant for the presence of clinical signs of the disease. Ovine anaplasmosis is an emerging disease in Europe that spreads rapidly through tick bites and is capable of causing significant economic losses when it spreads in a naive area and causes an epidemic. Full article

(This article belongs to the Collection Diseases of Small Ruminants)

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11 pages, 1204 KB

Open AccessArticle

Molecular Detection and Phylogeny of Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Related Variants in Small Ruminants from Turkey

by Münir Aktaş, Sezayi Özübek and Mehmet Can Uluçeşme

Animals 2021, 11(3), 814; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11030814 - 14 Mar 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3454

Abstract

Anaplasma phagocytophilum causes tick-borne fever in small ruminants. Recently, novel Anaplasma variants related to A. phagocytophilum have been reported in ruminants from Tunisia, Italy, South Korea, Japan, and China. Based on 16S rRNA and groEL genes and sequencing, we screened the frequency of A. phagocytophilum and related variants in 433 apparently healthy small ruminants in Turkey. Anaplasma spp. overall infection rates were 27.9% (121/433 analyzed samples). The frequency of A. phagocytophilum and A. phagocytophilum-like 1 infections was 1.4% and 26.5%, respectively. No A. phagocytophilum-like 2 was detected in the tested animals. The prevalence of Anaplasma spp. was comparable in species, and no significant difference was detected between sheep and goats, whereas the prevalence significantly increased with tick infestation. Sequencing confirmed PCR-RFLP data and showed the presence of A. phagocytophilum and A. phagocytophilum-like-1 variant in the sampled animals. Phylogeny-based on 16S rRNA gene revealed the A. phagocytophilum-like 1 in a separate clade together with the previous isolates detected in small ruminants and ticks. In this work, A. phagocytophilum-like 1 has been detected for the first time in sheep and goats from Turkey. This finding revealed that the variant should be considered in the diagnosis of caprine and ovine anaplasmosis. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Veterinary Microbiology & Parasitology)

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