Observed prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in domestic animals in Sicily, Italy during 2003-2005.

Abstract	The objective of this study was to characterize the observed prevalence of tick-borne pathogens (TBP) in domestic animals in Sicily, Italy during 2003-2005. Serological (competitive ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence antibody, n = 3299) and DNA tests (polymerase chain reaction and reverse line blot, n = 2565) were conducted on horse, donkey, cattle, sheep, goat, pig and dog samples. Pathogens analysed included Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Rickettsia, Babesia and Theileria species, and Coxiella burnetii. The most prevalent TBP were Anaplasma and Babesia species. The results reported herein suggested that cattle could serve as the major reservoir for Babesia and Theileria spp. while for Anaplasma spp. cattle, dogs, sheep and goats may be the most important reservoir species. These results expanded our knowledge about the prevalence of TBP in Sicily and provided information to understand the epidemiology of tick-borne diseases and may help to implement measures to diagnose, treat and control transmission to humans and animals in this region.
Authors	A Torina, J Vicente, A Alongi, S Scimeca, R Turlá, S Nicosia, V Di Marco, S Caracappa, J de la Fuente
Journal	Zoonoses and public health (Zoonoses Public Health) Vol. 54 Issue 1 Pg. 8-15 ( 2007) ISSN: 1863-1959 [Print] Germany
PMID	17359441 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)
Chemical References	Antibodies, Bacterial
Topics	Anaplasma Anaplasmosis (epidemiology) Animals Animals, Domestic Antibodies, Bacterial (blood) Arachnid Vectors (microbiology, parasitology) Babesia Babesiosis (epidemiology, veterinary) Cattle Disease Reservoirs (veterinary) Ehrlichia Ehrlichiosis (epidemiology) Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (methods, veterinary) Goats Horses Italy (epidemiology) Sentinel Surveillance (veterinary) Seroepidemiologic Studies Sheep Swine Theileria Theileriasis (epidemiology) Tick-Borne Diseases (epidemiology, veterinary) Ticks (microbiology, parasitology)

Join CureHunter, for free Research Interface BASIC access!

Take advantage of free CureHunter research engine access to explore the best drug and treatment options for any disease. Find out why thousands of doctors, pharma researchers and patient activists around the world use CureHunter every day.

Realize the full power of the drug-disease research graph!