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Амурский зоологический журнал, 2023, т. XV, № 2
Amurian Zoological Journal, 2023, vol. XV, no. 2
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https://www.doi.org/10.33910/2686-9519-2023-15-2-267-271 http://zoobank.org/References/09A7051D-7885-4355-9218-7C98FF9BCC77
UDC 576.895.132
Epizootological aspects of pyroplasmids in cows (Bos taurus)
in Azerbaijan
E. I. Ahmadov, F. Z. Mammadova, Zh. V. HasanovaH, N. A. Hajiyeva, S. O. Samedova
Institute of Zoology, Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan, 1128th Side Street, 504th Block,
Sabailsky Region, AZ 1073, Baku, Azerbaijan
Authors
El'shad I. Ahmadov E-mail: parazitolog@mail.ru ORCID: 0000-0001-7418-6790
Farida Z. Mammadova
E-mail: farida.mammadova5@mail.ru
Zhalya V. Hasanova
E-mail: has jal@mail.ru
Nurana A. Hajiyeva
E-mail: nuruhaciyeva@gmail.com
Sevda O. Samedova
E-mail: sevda.samedova68@mail.ru
Abstract. This article analyzes the epizootological situation of pyroplasmosis in cattle in Azerbaijan from the middle of the last century to the present. The blood samples were collected from cattle at private farms in AbsheronRegion, Azerbaijan. Total 87 cows were examined for blood parasite infection. Experiments were carried out from January to November 2021. Modified Romanovsky-Giemsa staining was used on peripheral blood smears of suspected cattle. Among 87 clinically suspected cattle examined, only 16 cows (18.4%) had Babesia infection — Babesia sp. The present study also analyzes the prevalence of blood protozoa in relation to season dynamics. The study results revealed that the prevalence of Babesiosis infection in cows in Absheron Region is much higher in spring (31.8%) and autumn (27.3%) than in summer (11.5%). Babesiosis was found in all seasons except winter.
Copyright: © The Authors (2023). Published by Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia. Open access under CC BY-NC License 4.0.
Keywords: piroplasmids, Babesiosis, ticks, cow, blood parasites, cattle, Babesia
Эпизоотологические аспекты пироплазмоза коров (Bos taurus)
в Азербайджане
Э. И. Ахмедов, Ф. З. Мамедова, Ж. В. Гасанован, Н. А. Гаджиева, С. О. Самедова
Институт Зоологии Министерства Науки и Образования Азербайджана, 504-й квартал, 1128-й переход,
Сабаильский р-он, AZ 1073, г. Баку, Азербайждан
Сведения об авторах
Ахмедов Эльшад Ильяс
E-mail: parazitolog@mail.ru
ORCID: 0000-0001-7418-6790
Мамедова Фарида Зохраб
E-mail: farida.mammadova5@mail.ru
Гасанова Жаля Васиф
E-mail: has jal@mail.ru
Гаджиева Нурана Али
E-mail: nuruhaciyeva@gmail.com
Самедова Севда Октай
E-mail: sevda.samedova68@mail.ru
Права: © Авторы (2023). Опубликовано Российским государственным педагогическим университетом им. А. И. Герцена. Открытый доступ на условиях лицензии СС БУ-ЫС 4.0.
Аннотация. В данной статье анализируется эпизоотологическая ситуация по пироплазмозу крупного рогатого скота в Азербайджане с середины прошлого века по настоящее время. Образцы крови были взяты у крупного рогатого скота из частных хозяйств Абшеронского района Азербайджана. Всего на зараженность кровепаразитами обследовано 87 коров. Эксперименты проводились с января 2021 г. по ноябрь 2021 г. Модифицированная краска по Романовскому-Гимзе использовалась для мазков периферической крови зараженного крупного рогатого скота. По результатам исследований среди 87 обследованных коров с подозрением на клинические проявления только 16 коров (18.4%) были инфицированы бабезиями — Babesia sp. В настоящем исследовании также изучалась зараженность простейшими крови в зависимости от сезонной динамики. Выявлено, что распространенность бабезиозной инфекции у коров Абшеронского района значительно выше весной (31.8%) и осенью (27.3%), чем в летний период (11.5%). Бабезиоз обнаруживали во все сезоны года, кроме зимы.
Ключевые слова: пироплазмиды, бабезиоз, клещи, корова, кровепаразиты, крупный рогатый скот, бабезиоз
Introduction
The fauna of pyroplasmids is especially rich in countries with a hot climate, and therefore the most serious economic losses from py-roplasmidosis are borne by animal husbandry in Africa, South and Central America, Southern Europe and Asia (He et al. 2021). Outbreaks of the diseaseoccur in spring, summer and sometimes fall.
Pyroplasmids cause colossal damage to agriculture. So, according to some reports, from 1907 to 1938 in the United States alone, more than 456 million dollars were spent on programs to combat tick vectors (Graham 1977). In Ireland, from 1.3 to 2.5% of the cattle population suffers from babesiosis every year, and more than 10% of the diseased animals die. In England and Scotland, the damage from babe-siosis is about 450 thousand dollars annually, and in Northern Ireland — 320 thousand dollars (Gray, Harte 1985).
The family Babesiidae is the richest in quantity and quality. The wide distribution and variety of babesid species is observed largely due to their ability to circulate in many generations of carrier ticks, passing from generation to generation of invertebrate hosts transovarially. The family Babesiidae includes four genera: Babesia, Piroplasma, Francaiella and Nuttallia.
Pyroplasmids are single-celled protists with a complex development cycle, parasitic in representatives of all classes of vertebrates and in ticks of the superfamily Ixodoidea. The life cycle of pyroplasm takes place in the organisms of two hosts — an invertebrate host and tick vectors. Reproduction of pyroplasmas in the body of an invertebrate host occurs in the blood by simple division, and in the body of ticks — in tissues, hemo-lymph and eggs (Yokoyama 2018). In the body of an invertebrate host, they multiply first in the internal organs, and then in the peripheral blood.
Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease of economic importance in livestock caused by Babesia spp., which are hemoparasitic piro-plasms that target the host erythrocytes. Cat-
tle, dogs, small ruminants and wild ruminants are the species most commonly affected, while in cats, horses and pigs it is observed less frequently.
Bovine babesiosis is a tick-borne disease of cattle caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Babesia, order Piroplasmida, phylum Apicomplexa. The principal species of Babe-sia that cause Bovine babesiosis are Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina and Babesia divergens. B. major, B. ovata,
B. occultans and B. jakimovi also can infect cattle (Thompson, Goodrich 2018).
B. bigemina is the major large species that causes the disease called Texas fever, and B.bovis is the major small species (Thompson, Goodrich 2018). The parasite — B. bo-vis — positions itself as single, multiple, or paired complexes within erythrocytes (Fig. 1). Erythrocytes infected with B.bovis are harder to identify than in B. bigemina infection. B. bovis can change the structure and the function of erythrocytes leading to fatal cerebral babesiosis.
The aim of this research was to study the infection of cows with pyroplasmids from private farms in Absheron Region of Azerbaijan.
Materials and methods
Experiments were carried out in the Protozoology Laboratory of the Institute of Zoology of ANAS from January to November
Fig. 1. Erythrocytes of cows infected with Babesia sp.
Рис. 1. Эритроциты коров, инфицированных Babesia sp.
2021. Materials constitute the fauna of blood parasites in the examined 87 cows from private farms in Absheron Region of Azerbaijan.
Microscopic detection of Babesia was performed using the microscope with a video camera (Carl Zeiss Axio Scope A1) with oil immersion (400x and 1000x) for hemopara-sites, the genusof which was identified based on their morphology. The number of parasites observed in 100 optic fields was recorded. Blood smears were made on site, air dried, fixed with 100% methanol and then stained using a modified Romanovsky-Giemsa staining technique (Marshall 1978). The genus and species of parasites found in the blood were determined upon their morphological traits (Krylov 1996, Uilenberg 1995).
All animals from private farms in Abshe-ron were studied for the extensiveness of invasion by pyroplasmids in all seasons of the year, calculated for 50 fields of view of the microscope. Data from the study were entered in Ms Excel; the IBM SPSS Statistics 20 statistical program was used for statistical processing of the results.
Results
Table 1 presents the obtained morphological data as well as the data on parasites studied throughout the republic in 2013-2014. The table indicates comparative morphological characteristics of three species of py-roplasmids.
The obtained data indicates the sizes and shapes of the Babesia sp. parasites found in
the erythrocytes of the cows from Absheron Region of Azerbaijan.
The larger form of Babesia sp. has the sizes of 4.0-5.3 mkm x 2.1-3.5 mkm. The parasites are characteristically oval shaped. Babesia sp. has a smaller form (3.5-4.7 mkm x 2.03.6 mkm). These parasites are characteristically figure eight shaped.
In this study we investigated seasonal prevalence of Babesia infection in 87 cows (Table 2). Among 87 clinically suspected cattle examined, only 16 cows (18.4%) had Babesia infection.
Table 2 indicates that the prevalence of Babesiosis infection in cows in Absheron Re-
gion is much higher in spring (31.8%) and autumn (27.3%) than in summer (11.5%). Babe-siosis was found in all seasons except winter.
Discussion
Blood parasitic diseases (piroplasmosis) are widespread in Azerbaijan, mainly in the sub-tropics. Cattle and other animals are affected. In the southern zone of Azerbaijan, natural and climatic conditions and the relief are favorable for the development and spread of various species of ticks — carriers of blood-parasitic diseases of domestic animals — over the vast territory. This zone is also rich in species composition of pyroplasmidosis in cattle. The study established strong infestation of ticks collected from cattle in this area by Babesia sp. parasites (Mirzabekov, Mamedova 2014).
Ramgopal L. et al. (2015) recorded that B. bigemina parasites are large and characteristically pear shaped. Round (2-3 |im in diameter) oval or irregularly shaped forms of Babesia may also be found (4.5 |im x 2.0 |im). B. bovis parasites are a small form of Babesia (2.0 |im x 1.5 |im). Slightly larger than B. divergens, vacuolated signet ring forms are particularly common (Laha et al. 2015). B. divergens is a small form (1.5 |im x 0.4 |im) of Babesia. Parasites generally remain as a paired form, superficially lie on the RBC; stout and pyri-form or circular forms may be found. B.major is a large form (3.2 |im x 1.5 |im) of Babesia. Pyriform bodies, the angle between the organism is < 90. Round forms are with a diameter of about 1.8 |im (Laha et al. 2015).
Piroplasmosis, the biology and ecology of ixodid ticks, carriers of their pathogens, and the episoological situation of blood-parasitic diseases of animals in Azerbaijan have been investigated since the 1940s. At the beginning of the first half of the last century, 24 species of ixodes ticks belonging to six genera and 15 species of pyroplasmids were registered in Azerbaijan (Mirzabekov, Mamedova 2014).
The first detection of blood-parasitic diseases of cattle in Azerbaijan was described at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1903 E. P. Dz-hunkovsky and I. M. Luz found the causative agent of theileriosis — Theileria annulata — in
Amurian Zoological Journal, 2022, vol. XV, no. 2
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Table 1
Comparative morphological characteristics of three species of pyroplasmids
Таблица 1
Сравнительная морфологическая характеристика 3-х видов пироплазмид
Shape of parasite Francaiella colchica (mkm) (by K. D. Mirzabekov, G. R. Mamedova) Babesia bigemina (mkm) (by K. D. Mirzabekov, G. R. Mamedova) Babesia sp. (mkm) (by K. D. Mirzabekov, G. R. Mamedova) Babesia sp. (mkm) (the obtained data)
pear 2.8-3.9x1.4-1.9 3.7-5.6x2.1-2.7 — —
oval 2.4-2.6X1.8-2.0 3.6-4.0x2.3-2.4 4.2-5.7x2.3-3.8 4.0-5.3 x 2.1-3.5
cigar-shaped 3.2-3.6X1.7-1.8 3.6-4.2x1.9-2.0 — —
rod-shaped 2.1-2.3x0.9-1.1 — 3.4-5.5x1.2-1.7 —
figure eight — — 3.6-4.9x1.8-2.5 3.5-4.7 x 2.0-3.6
amoeboid form 5.2-5.3 — 3.6-4.2x1.7-2.7
banana shape — — 4.2-5.6x1.9-2.9
sickle shape — — 2.8-4.2x1.0-2.4
cattle for the first time on the territory of Azerbaijan (Goy-Gel Region). In the subsequent years these researchers described piroplasmosis of cattle and small ruminants in Azerbaijan. In 2010-2014, 11 species of ticks of the family Ixo-didae related to all four genera were recorded in the southern part of Azerbaijan and 16 species of ticks were registered throughout the republic of Azerbaijan. The species composition in the southern part of Azerbaijan is also rich in cattle pyroplasmids. In addition to the pyroplasmids specific for this zone — B.bigemina, Fr.colchica, Anaplasma marginale and Th.annulata — three new species of pyroplasmids were also reported. In addition, new species for the southern
zone — Fr. caucasica and Th. mutans — were identified. Th. mutans was identified in 20 regions of the republic of Azerbaijan (Mirzabekov, Mamedova 2014).
The obtained results of the study concerning pyroplasmids in Azerbaijan by seasons are comparable to other studies. Seasonal prevalence of Babesia infection recorded in this study also supports other authors' reports (Miah Y. et al. 2008). No babesiosis was found during the rainy season (Nath et al. 2013).
Based on the results of our research, it is necessary to continue epizootic monitoring of cattle babesiosis in order to reduce the economic damage from blood parasitic diseases.
Season-wise prevalence of Babesiosis infection Сезонная распространенность инфекцией Babesiosis
Table 2 Таблица 2
Season Number of animals Babesiosis
Winter 17 0 0 %
Spring 22 7 31.8%
Summer 26 3 11.5%
Autumn 22 6 27.3%
Total 87 16 18.4%
References
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For citation: Ahmadov, E. I., Mammadova, F. Z., Hasanova, Zh. V., Hajiyeva, N. A., Samedova, S. O. (2023) Epizootological aspects of pyroplasmids in cows (Bos taurus) in Azerbaijan. Amurian Zoological Journal, vol. XV, no. 2, pp. 267-271. https://www.doi.org/10.33910/2686-9519-2023-15-2-267-271
Received 8 February 2023; reviewed 20 March 2023; accepted 5 April 2023.
Для цитирования: Ахмедов, Э. И., Мамедова, Ф. З., Гасанова, Ж. В., Гаджиева, Н. А., Самедова, С. О. (2023) Эпизоотологические аспекты пироплазмоза коров (Bos taurus) в Азербайджане. Амурский зоологический журнал, т. XV, № 2, с. 267-271. https://www.doi.org/10.33910/2686-9519-2023-15-2-267-271 Получена 8 февраля 2023; прошла рецензирование 20 марта 2023; принята 5 апреля 2023.
