Prevalence and geographic distribution of Besnoitia besnoiti infection in cattle herds in Portugal

Parasitology Research volume 113, pages3703–3711(2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Bovine besnoitiosis, caused by the apicomplexan parasite Besnoitia besnoiti is considered an emergent disease in Europe. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and geographic distribution of B. besnoiti in cattle herds in continental Portugal and to identify potential spatial clustering of infection. A stratified two-stage cross-sectional serological survey was carried out between March 2012 and May 2013 with the five administrative NUTS II regions, Norte, Centro, Lisboa, Alentejo, and Algarve, as the stratification level. Sera from 391 herds in 220 parishes and 83 municipalities were analyzed by a serial testing strategy, with the modified agglutination test (B-MAT) as the first screening assay and the immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT) as the confirmatory test. Within-herd prevalence of positive herds varied between 0.7 and 72.4 % and was ≥10.3 % in half of the infected herds. Using a Bayesian approach, the true prevalence of B. besnoiti in cattle herds was determined to be 5.1 % (confidence interval (CI), 3.1–7.8 %) and the mean within-herd prevalence of positive herds was 33.0 % (CI, 20.3–46.0 %). The sensitivity and specificity of the B-MAT were estimated to be 96.9 % (CI, 93.7–98.8 %) and 99.7 % (CI, 99.6–99.8 %), whereas those of the IFAT were 89.6 % (CI, 86.0–92.5 %) and 99.7 % (CI, 98.5–99.9 %), respectively. Spatial scan statistics analysis identified one spatial cluster covering the majority of the Alentejo region. Seropositive herds were detected for the first time outside Alentejo, in the region Centro and in the northeast of Portugal. Further epidemiological research is needed to identify eco-biological factors, which could explain the geographic clustering of B. besnoiti in Portugal.

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Acknowledgments

The present work was performed at the Parasitology Laboratory, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV), which provided the necessary research resources. This work further received partial support from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal, project grant PTDC/CVT/65674/2006. The authors thank the National Veterinary Authority (DGAV) and the official laboratories DRAPN, Segalab, Viseu, Guarda, Alcains, Proleite, LMV, COPRAPEC, Évora, ACOS, Assisvet, and DRAALG, for the invaluable collaboration in this study. The authors also wish to acknowledge gratefully Prof. Adam Branscum for the helpful comments on the Bayesian model application, Lucinda Marques and Maria do Carmo Ramos (INIAV) for assistance in sample processing, and Margarida Arede (CIISA-FMV) for the kind help in the spatial analysis of data.

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Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Parasitologia, Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Rua General Morais Sarmento, 1500-311, Lisbon, Portugal

    Helga Waap

  2. CIISA, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-447, Lisbon, Portugal

    Telmo Nunes & Yolanda Vaz

  3. Laboratório de Parasitologia, Núcleo da Mitra, ICAAM, Universidade de Évora, Apartado 94, 7000-554, Évora, Portugal

    Helder Cortes

  4. Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, CVZ, CIISA, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Av. da Universidade Técnica, 1300-447, Lisbon, Portugal

    Alexandre Leitão

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  1. Helga Waap
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  2. Telmo Nunes
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  3. Helder Cortes
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  4. Alexandre Leitão
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Correspondence to Alexandre Leitão or Yolanda Vaz.

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Waap, H., Nunes, T., Cortes, H. et al. Prevalence and geographic distribution of Besnoitia besnoiti infection in cattle herds in Portugal. Parasitol Res 113, 3703–3711 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-4035-1

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Keywords

  • Besnoitia besnoiti
  • Bovine besnoitiosis
  • Survey
  • Portugal