Abortion and congenital transmission of Trypanosoma vivax in goats and ewes in semiarid northeastern Brazil

Jael Soares Batista; Wanderson Lucas Alves Dos Santos; Ana Caroline Freitas Caetano de Sousa; Tiago da Silva Teófilo; Ana Carla Diógenes Suassuna Bezerra; Victor Hugo Vieira Rodrigues; José Ailton da Silva Filho; Tânia Vasconcelos Cavalcante; Kizzy Millenn de Freitas Mendonça Costa; Geysa Almeida Viana

doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2022.06.009

Abortion and congenital transmission of Trypanosoma vivax in goats and ewes in semiarid northeastern Brazil

Res Vet Sci. 2022 Dec:149:125-127. doi: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2022.06.009. Epub 2022 Jun 24.

Affiliations

¹ Department of Animal Sciences, Center for Agricultural Sciences, Federal Rural University of the Semiarid, 59625-900 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
² Center for Biological and Health Sciences, Federal Rural University of the Semiarid, 59625-900 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Electronic address: tiago.teofilo@ufersa.edu.br.
³ Center for Biological and Health Sciences, Federal Rural University of the Semiarid, 59625-900 Mossoró, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.
⁴ Department of Veterinary Clinic and Surgery, Center for Agricultural Sciences, Federal University of Piauí, Teresina, Piauí, Brazil.

PMID: 35779347
DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2022.06.009

Abstract

The main effects of trypanosomosis in Brazil are related to reproductive alterations. In this context, the present study aimed to report the occurrence of abortions in goats and sheeps in the semiarid region of Northeastern Brazil, associated with Trypanosoma vivax. Trypomastigotes forms visualized by Buffy coat technique (BCT) method in 68.7% of the goats and 50.0% of the ewes that aborted. PCR identified that 100% of the goats and ewes that aborted were infected with T. vivax. The goats and ewes that aborted showed high parasitemia and developed clinical signs of trypanosomosis. The presence of T. vivax DNA was identified in the blood of fetuses by the PCR technique, proving infection by T. vivax in aborted fetuses, as well as confirming the congenital transmission of the parasite.

Keywords: Abortion; Northeast Brazil; Small ruminant; Trypanosomiasis.

MeSH terms

Abortion, Veterinary / epidemiology
Abortion, Veterinary / parasitology
Animals
Brazil / epidemiology
Female
Goat Diseases* / parasitology
Goats
Pregnancy
Sheep
Sheep Diseases* / epidemiology
Sheep Diseases* / parasitology
Trypanosoma vivax / genetics
Trypanosomiasis* / epidemiology
Trypanosomiasis* / parasitology
Trypanosomiasis* / veterinary
Trypanosomiasis, African* / epidemiology
Trypanosomiasis, African* / veterinary