Prevalence and genetic diversity of blood parasite mixed infections in Spanish terrapins, Mauremys leprosa

Parasitology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 144 (11) ◽  
pp. 1449-1457 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALFONSO MARZAL ◽  
ALEJANDRO IBÁÑEZ ◽  
MANUEL GONZÁLEZ-BLÁZQUEZ ◽  
PILAR LÓPEZ ◽  
JOSÉ MARTÍN

SUMMARYBlood parasites such as haemogregarines and haemosporidians have been identified in almost all groups of vertebrates and may cause serious damages to their hosts. However, very little is known about biodiversity of these parasites and their effects on some groups of reptiles such as terrapins. Moreover, the information on virulence from blood parasites mixed infection is largely unknown in reptiles. With this aim, we investigated for the first time the prevalence and genetic diversity of blood parasites from one genus of haemoparasitic aplicomplexan (Hepatozoon) in two populations of Spanish terrapins (Mauremys leprosa), a semi-aquatic turtle from southwestern Europe with a vulnerable conservation status. We also examined the association between mixed blood parasite infection and indicators of health of terrapins (body condition, haematocrit values and immune response). Blood parasite infection with Hepatozoon spp was detected in 46·4% of 140 examined terrapins. The prevalence of blood parasites infection differed between populations. We found two different lineages of blood parasite, which have not been found in previous studies. Of the turtles with infection, 5·7% harboured mixed infection by the two lineages. There was no difference in body condition between uninfected, single-infected and mixed-infected turtles, but mixed-infected individuals had the lowest values of haematocrit, thus revealing the negative effects of blood parasite mixed infections. Immune response varied among terrapins with different infection status, where mixed infected individuals had higher immune response than uninfected or single-infected terrapins.

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 144-150
Author(s):  
N. P. Pirogova ◽  
M. R. Karpova ◽  
V. V. Novitsky ◽  
A. P. Zima ◽  
O. V. Voronkova ◽  
...  

The authors of the article are trying to generalize the literary data that characterizing proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines production of peripheral blood immune cells during tick-borne neuroinfections: Lyme borreliosis, associated with tick- borne encephalitis. The immune response development to antigens of a tick-borne encephalitis virus and Borrelia burgdorferi in pa- tients with a mixed-infection essentially differs from those during monoinfections.


Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 509
Author(s):  
Kaixi Zhao ◽  
Cristina Rosa

Mixed infections provide opportunities for viruses to increase genetic diversity by facilitating genomic reassortment or recombination, and they may lead to the emergence of new virus species. Mixed infections of two economically important orthotospoviruses, Tomato spotted wilt orthotospovirus (TSWV) and Impatiens necrotic spot orthotospovirus (INSV), were found in recent years, but no natural reassortants between INSV and TSWV were ever reported. The goal of this study was to establish how vector preferences and the ability to transmit INSV and TSWV influence transmission and establishment of mixed infections. Our results demonstrate that thrips prefer to oviposit on TSWV and INSV mixed-infected plants over singly infected or healthy plants, providing young nymphs with the opportunity to acquire both viruses. Conversely, we observed that thrips served as a bottleneck during transmission and favored transmission of one of the two viruses over the second one, or over transmission of both viruses simultaneously. This constraint was relaxed in plants, when transmission of TSWV and INSV occurred sequentially, demonstrating that plants serve as orthotospovirus permissive hosts, while thrips serve as a bottleneck. Viral fitness, as measured by virus replication, transmission, and competition with other viral strains, is not well studied in mixed infection. Our study looks at the success of transmission during mixed infection of orthotopoviruses, enhancing the understanding of orthotospovirus epidemiology and evolution.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 308
Author(s):  
Djoko Legowo ◽  
Syifa Husnul Khotimah ◽  
Lucia Tri Suwanti

The Aim of this research was to determine the blood parasite infection prevalence in Garut District. The research was conducted in November-December 2016. 160 samples of blood were obtained from eight subdistrict at Kampong Chicken Breeder’s Group (KEPAK) in Garut District smeared with 3% Giemsa solution and examined under a microscope with 1000x magnification. The merozoite and gametocyte that was discovered recorded. The data that obtained was analyzed descriptively. A parasites were found in 11 blood samples (6.88%). The genus of blood parasites is Leucocytozoon sp., while Plasmodium sp., Haemoproteus sp., and Trypanosoma avium sp. are not found in this research (0%). All of blood infected parasite only found at Tarogong Kidul subdistrict and seven other subdistricts showed negative results.  Keyword: Blood parasite, Leucocytozoon, KEPAK, Kampong Chicken


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Salama Al-Hamidhi ◽  
Elshafie I. Elshafie ◽  
Saeed Yaghfoori ◽  
W. Ivan Morrison ◽  
Eugene H. Johnson ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Epidemiological surveys in Oman have revealed a high prevalence of the co-occurrence of the pathogenic Theileria lestoquardi and the non-pathogenic Theileria ovis among sheep in the Barka region, Oman. Our most recent data illustrated an interaction and reduced mortality risk in animals co-infected with T. lestoquardi and T. ovis, suggesting that the latter confers protection against pathogenicity of T. lestoquardi. The present study extends the above findings and examines disease outcomes; clinical markers, hematological parameters, and parasite density in mixed and single T. lestoquardi infections. Methods A total of 390 blood samples were collected from 16 sheep pens located in Barka, Oman between July and November 2019. Theileria spp. were detected and quantified using qPCR assay targeting 18S rRNA, and the extent of genetic diversity was estimated by a panel of T. lestoquardi specific micro- and mini-satellites. The association of some disease markers with the presence of Theileria spp. and genetic diversity was tested. Results Theileria spp. were detected in 75 (19.2%) sheep; of these 65 (86.7%) had mixed infections (T. lestoquardi plus T. ovis), 8 (10.6%) were infected with T. lestoquardi alone, and 2 (2.7%) with only T. ovis. Exotic breeds had a higher risk for Theileria spp. infection. The density (18S rRNA gene copies) of both parasites was higher in single infection against mixed infection, and there was a relatively lower density of T. lestoquardi in mixed infections. However, there was no difference in hematological indices between single T. lestoquardi and mixed infections. High genetic diversity was observed among T. lestoquardi in Barka, with no differences of T. lestoquardi in single and mixed infections. The extent of diversity seen in Barka was higher (He = 0.772) than that reported in Oman in 2019 (He = 0.582), with distinct T. lestoquardi genotypes. Conclusion The lower density of T. lestoquardi as mixed infection with T. ovis compared to single infection supports the hypothesis that T. ovis confers protection against lethal T. lestoquardi infection. However, there were no differences in disease correlations (clinical markers, hematological parameters, and density of parasites) or the extent of diversity of T. lestoquardi between the two types of infection. The presence of distinct T. lestoquardi genotypes in Barka, compared to that reported earlier in Oman, likely reflects movement of carrier animals and highlights the need for further analysis of the parasite populations to inform novel approaches for controlling malignant ovine theileriosis. Graphical Abstract


2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 615-624
Author(s):  
Leydy P. González ◽  
Carolina M. Vargas-León ◽  
Gustavo Andrés Fuentes-Rodríguez ◽  
Martha L. Calderón-Espinosa ◽  
Nubia E. Matta

Introduction: In amphibians, blood may act as a hematopoietic tissue. However, the knowledge concerning hematological features is scarce, there is not much information that allows an analysis about the possible explanations of this physiological feature. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between immature red blood cells (RBCs) mitosis and the presence of blood parasites in amphibians. Methods: We sampled 116 amphibians (31 species) in six Colombian localities. Blood was taken by cardiac puncture or maxillary vein puncture. Smears were prepared, fixed, and Giemsa stained for microscopical analysis. The variables analyzed were the percentage of immature RBCs, mitotic cells in peripheral blood, and blood parasite infection. Data were analyzed using Wilcoxon's rank test and exact Fisher statistical tests. Results: Sixty-two individuals showed mitosis in peripheral blood, and these mitotic RBCs shared morphological features with immature RBCs. Overall, parasite prevalence was 30.1 %, distributed as follows: Trypanosoma (24.1 %), Hepatozoon-like (6 %), Dactylosoma (4.3 %), Karyolysus-like (0.9 %), and Filarioidea (2.6 %). A positive association between the percentage of immature RBCs and the presence of mitotic RBCs was found, and also between the blood parasite infection and the percentage of immature RBCs. Conclusions: In this study, we found that the presence of blood parasites, immature RBCs, and RBCs mitosis are frequent events in amphibians' peripheral blood, and our analysis suggests an association between those features. Thus, the release of immature RBCs and the mitosis of those cells in peripheral blood may be a physiological response to blood parasite infection. Further studies characterizing hematology in amphibians and wildlife, in general, are desirable.


Parasitology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 143 (11) ◽  
pp. 1433-1436
Author(s):  
JOSÉ MARTÍN ◽  
MARIO GARRIDO ◽  
JESÚS ORTEGA ◽  
ROBERTO GARCÍA-ROA ◽  
ALEJANDRO IBÁÑEZ ◽  
...  

SUMMARYBlood parasites such as haemogregarines and haemosporidians have been identified in almost all groups of vertebrates. However, very little is known about biodiversity of these parasites and their effects on some major groups of reptiles such as amphisbaenians, a distinctive group with many morphological and ecological adaptations to fossorial life. Conditions of the fossorial environment might also affect host–parasite relationships. We investigated the presence and the potential prevalence of three genera of haemoparasitic aplicomplexan blood parasites (Hepatozoon, Plasmodium and Haemoproteus) in the amphisbaenian Trogonophis wiegmanni, a fossorial worm lizard species from North West Africa. Blood parasite infection was not detected in T. wiegmanni, both in visual surveys of blood smears and using molecular methods to detect DNA of such parasites in the blood of the potential amphisbaenian hosts. We discuss how conditions of the fossorial environment might affect blood parasitaemias in amphisbaenians as well as in other fossorial reptiles.


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