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Parasitological, molecular, and epidemiological investigation of Trypanosoma evansi infection among dromedary camels in Balochistan province

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Abstract

Surra is a zoonotic disease caused by Trypanosoma evansi (T. evansi), which affects a wide variety of animals worldwide. The disease has a severe impact on the productivity, health, and working capacity of camels and causes mortality and extensive economic losses if not diagnosed early. This is the first comprehensive report on the prevalence of T. evansi infection in dromedaries in Balochistan province. In the present study, 393 blood samples (indigenous, n = 240; imported, n=153) were collected from one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius) and were tested by molecular methods to estimate the prevalence of T. evansi in three districts (Pishin, Nushki, and Lasbella) of Balochistan province. The overall prevalence of T. evansi among examined camel samples was 28.24% (95% confidence interval (CI): 24.02–32.89%). The risk of T. evansi infection in adult camels (> 10 years) is higher than that in young ones (odd-ration (OR) = 2.7; 95% CI: 1.3357–5.3164%). Moreover, male camels were six times more likely to get an infection than female camels. The detection of T. evansi infection in camels sampled in summer and spring was 3.12- and 5.10-fold higher, respectively, than in camels sampled in winter. In conclusion, our findings showed a high rate of T. evansi infection in camels from the three districts. Our study emphasizes the need for a strict surveillance program and risk assessment studies as prerequisites for control measures.

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Data availability

The dataset used in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We are very thankful for the help and valuable contribution of all the camel farmers who participated in the study, they made this research possible.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Waseem Khan, Mian Abdul Hafeez, Muhammad Lateef, Sikandar Ali & Muhammad Wahab

  2. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Muhammad Awais, Bilal Ahmed Shah & Ajmal Nisar Mengal

  3. Department of Biotechnology, FLSI, Balochistan University of Information Technology, Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta, 87300, Pakistan

    Abdul Wajid

  4. Institute of Microbiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Zian Asif

  5. Livestock & Dairy Development (L&DD) Department, Balochistan Province, Quetta, 87300, Pakistan

    Mansoor Ahmed & Najeeb Kakar

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  1. Waseem Khan
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  2. Mian Abdul Hafeez
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Contributions

Conceptualization, M.A.H., W.K.; sample collection, W.K., N.K., A.N., M.W.; methodology, W.K., M.A., B.A.S.; data curation, A.W., W.K., S.A.; writing—original draft preparation, W.K., A.W.; writing—review and editing, M.L., M.A., Z.A.; project administration, M.A.H. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mian Abdul Hafeez or Abdul Wajid.

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Ethics approval

This research study was approved by the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, ethical review committee, Lahore, Pakistan (Approval number DR-764).

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All authors provided their consent for the publication of this report.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Khan, W., Hafeez, M.A., Lateef, M. et al. Parasitological, molecular, and epidemiological investigation of Trypanosoma evansi infection among dromedary camels in Balochistan province. Parasitol Res 122, 1833–1839 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-023-07884-6

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