Babesia caballi and Theileria equi are widely recognized as causative agents of equine pirolasmosis (EP), an acute, sub‐acute, and chronic disease of equines, with relevant economic impact on horse trade worldwide. Although several studies on EP prevalence from central Italy have been published, data on ticks responsible for its transmission are still lacking. In this study, we identified a potential competent vector, investigating main features of its ecology together with EP infection rates. A two‐year sampling of questing ticks was carried out for the first time in Italy in an area known for high EP prevalence in horse sera, detecting the association between Rhipicephalus bursa and causative agents of EP. Most of the positive pools harbored a single infection (91.1%); mixed infections were also detected (8.9%). The infection rate for T. equi slightly decreased among years; B. caballi showed a lower, but increasing, infection rate. Tick phenology, climate variables, and peaks of EP prevalence indicated late May and second half of June as periods with the highest risk of new infections, especially during warm and dry days.

中文翻译：

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对意大利中部巴贝斯球菌和马鞭毛虫（原生动物：Apicomplexa）媒介的of虱进行调查。

巴贝斯夜蛾和马勒氏泰勒虫被广泛认为是马脂毛病（EP）的病原体，是一种急性，亚急性和慢性马病，对全球的马匹贸易具有相关的经济影响。尽管已经发表了来自意大利中部的几种关于EP流行​​的研究，但仍缺乏有关on传播的数据。在这项研究中，我们确定了潜在的有效媒介，研究了其生态学和EP感染率的主要特征。在意大利以马血清中高EP患病率高的地区首次进行了为期两年的tick虱采样，检测到蛇脑囊之间的关联和EP的病原体。大部分阳性池中只有一种感染（91.1％）。还检测到混合感染（8.9％）。随着时间的流逝，马科动物的感染率略有下降。B. caballi的感染率较低，但呈上升趋势。ick虫的物候，气候变量和EP流行高峰表明，5月下旬和6月下半月是新感染风险最高的时​​期，尤其是在温暖和干燥的日子。