Abstract
The clinical effect of Trypanosoma congolense infection on Dutch belted (does) rabbits was investigated. Sixteen Dutch belted rabbits weighing between 1.6 and 1.8 kg were grouped into two groups of eight each. Animals were accessed for packed cell volume (PCV), total leucocyte count (TLC), rectal temperature (RT), heart rate (HR), and body weight (BW) before infection as well as 18, 25, and 58 days post inoculation (PI). The level of parasitaemia was estimated on a weekly basis and was graded by number of parasites/field. There was a significant difference (P < 0.05) in the mean PCV between treatment and control groups of the rabbits on all days PI. The other parameters were not significantly different between uninfected controls and treatment group although the rectal temperature fluctuated. The mean PCV of infected rabbits was 36.0 ± 0.53%, 35.3 ± 0.19%, and 28.0 ± 0.89% at days 18, 25, and 58 PI, while for uninfected, the mean PCV was 40.8 ± 0.11%, 41.8 ± 0.19%, and 41.3 ± 0.08% across the same time periods. Parasitaemia was detected at 6th day PI and remained high to the end of the study. The study suggests that the use of haematinics and anti-pyrexia treatments as part of disease management for rabbits would be useful.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data that were generated or analyzed in the course of this study were included in the article.
References
Aksoy S, Buscher P, Lehane M, Solano P, Van Den AJ (2017) Human African trypanosomiasis control: achievements and challenges. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 11(4):e0005454. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0005454
Balogun EO, Balogun JB, Yusuf S, Inuwa HM, Ndams IS, Sheridan P et al (2014) Anemia amelioration by lactose infusion during trypanosomosis could be associated with erythrocytes membrane de-galactosylation. Vet Parasitol 199:259–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2013.10.013
Cnops J, De Trez C, Stijlemans B, Keirsse J, Kauffmann F, Barkhuizen M, Keeton R, Boon L, Brombacher F, Magez S (2015) NK-, NKT- and CD8-derived IFNγ drives myeloid cell activation and erythrophagocytosis, resulting in trypanosomosis-associated acute anemia. PLoS Pathog 11(6):e1004964. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1004964
Courtin D, Berthier D, Thevenon S, Dayo GK, Garcia A, Bucheton B (2008) Host genetics in African trypanosomiasis. Infect Genet Evol 8:229–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meegid.2008.02.007
Egbe – Nwiyi TN, Igbokwe IO, Onyeyili PA, (2005) Pathogenicity of Trypanosome congolense infection following oral calcium chloride administration in rats. Afr J Biomed Res 8(3):197–201. https://doi.org/10.4314/ajbr.v8i3.35751
Eisler MC, Brandt J, Bauer B, Clausen PH, Delespaux V, Holmes PH, Ilemobade A, Machila N, Mambo H, McDermott J, Mehlitz D, Murilla G, Ndung’u JM, Peregrine AS, Sidibe I, Sinyangwe L, Geerts S, (2001) Standardized tests in mice and cattle for the detection of drug resistance in tsetse-transmitted s of African domestic cattle. Vet Parasitol 97:171–182
Habila N, Inuwa MH, Aimola IA, Udeh MU, Haruna E (2012) Pathogenic mechanisms of Trypanosoma evansi infections. Res Vet Sci 93:13–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2011.08.011
Henry T, Wanling P, Guiana W, Meiqing S (2004) Trypanosoma congolense infections: antibody – mediated phagocytosis by Kupfer cells. J Leukoc Biol 76:399 – 405. https://doi.org/10.1189/jlb.1003500
Losos GJ, Ikede BO (1972) Review of pathology of diseases of domestic and laboratory animals caused by Trypanosoma congolense, T. vivax, T. brucei, T. rhodesiense and T. gambiense. Vet Path 9 [suppl] 1-79.
Morrison LJ, Vezza L, Rowan T, Hope JC (2016) Animal African trypanosomiasis: time to increase focus on clinically relevant parasite and host species. Trends Parasitol 32:599–607. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2016.04.012
Ogwu D, Njoku N (1986) Effects of the reproductive status in Zebu Heifers on the immunoglobin M and G levels in bovine Trypanosoma vivax infection. Anim Reprod Sci 12:179–187. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-4320(86)90038
Ruiz JP, Nyingilili HS, Mbata GH et al (2015) The role of domestic animals in the epidemiology of human african trypanosomiasis in Ngorongoro conservation area. Tanzania Parasites Vectors 8:510. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-015-1125-6
Shaw AP, Cecchi G, Wint GR, Mattioli RC, Robinson TP (2014) Mapping the economic benefits to livestock keepers from intervening against bovine trypanosomosis in Eastern Africa. Prev Vet Med 113:197–210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2013.10.024
Stijlemans B, Caljon G, Van Den AJ, Van Ginderachter JA, Magez S, De Trez C (2016) Immune evasion strategies of Trypanosoma brucei within the mammalian host: progression to pathogenicity. Front Immunol 7:233. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2016.00233
Stijlemans B, De Baetselier P, Magez S, Van Ginderachter JA, De Trez C (2018) African trypanosomiasis-associated anemia: the contribution of the interplay between parasites and the mononuclear phagocyte system. Front Immunol 9:218. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2018.00218
Szempruch AJ et al (2016) Extracellular vesicles from Trypanosoma brucei mediate virulence factor transfer and cause host anemia. Cell 164:246–257. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015.11.051
Toma I, Shinggu DV, Ezekiel W, Barminas JT (2008) Effect of intraperitoneal administration of vitamine C (ascorbic acid) on anaemia in experimental Trypanosoma congolense infected rabbits. Afr J Pure Appl Chem 2(4):037–040
Yaro M, Munyard KA, Stear MJ, Groth DM (2016) Combatting African animal trypanosomiasis (AAT) in livestock: the potential role of trypanotolerance. Vet Parasitol 225:43–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2016.05.003
Acknowledgements
The authors express their appreciation to the Technologists of Parasitology and Entomology, and that of Theriogenology Laboratories, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Abuja for their support and technical assistance.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Sylvester Sunday Obeta - Conceptualization, Simon Azubuike Ubah – Supervision, Charles Ejike Ejiofor - Edited manuscript, Adikpe Oluwa Agbonu – Investigation, Columbus Philemon Kwinjoh - Resources, Kenneth Owoicho Abah – Resources, Alapa Baba Ikpe – Resources, Samuel Bankole Abayomi – Resources, Prisca Adaoma Ezinwo – Resources, Joy Iyojo Itodo – Resources, Isaac Oluwatobi Akefe - Drafted Original manuscript, Charles Amaechi Ubah – Review the manuscript, Samuel Mailafia – Review the manuscript, All authors reviewed and approved the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval
Approval was obtained from the University of Abuja Ethical Committee on Animal Use (UAECAU) (UAECAU/2022/008). The procedures used in this study adhered to the tenets of the Declaration of UAECAU.
Consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
All authors have agreed to this final version of the manuscript and have given their consent for its publication in the Parasitology Research journal.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Handling Editor: Una Ryan
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Obeta, S.S., Ubah, S.A., Ejiofor, C.E. et al. The clinical effect of experimental infection with Trypanosoma congolense on Dutch belted rabbits. Parasitol Res 122, 113–116 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07702-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07702-5