Seroprevalence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in horses in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Anaplasma phagocytophilum is the aetiological agent of equine granulocytic anaplasmosis (EGA). The aim of this survey was to assess the prevalence of anti-A. phagocytophilum antibodies in the horse population of the Czech Republic (CZ) and to investigate possible links between seropositivity and the geographic origin, age, and/or sex of the tested horses. Antibodies against A. phagocytophilum were screened using an indirect fluorescent antibody method (IFA). Serum samples from 96 healthy horses from 8 localities (7 within the CZ and one control upland/tick-free locality in Ukraine) were examined. While the controls tested negative, the seroprevalence in the Czech localities was estimated at 73%, which suggests that subclinical EGA is common among horses in the CZ. Significant differences between seropositivity rates in individual stables were demonstrated (explicable by the different environment and/or management styles of the horses stabled therein). Horses in stables from which previous manifest cases had been reported tended to have higher average titres. Mares displayed a somewhat higher seropositivity rate than did stallions; age had no demonstrable effect upon the serological status of the examined horses.