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Hematological and Biochemical Changes in Naturally Occurring Equine Piroplasmosis in Donkeys (Equus asinus) of Northwest of Iran

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Abstract

Purpose

Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne protozoal disease affecting horses, mules, donkeys and zebras and can lead to severe economic losses in the equine industry. There is limited information on clinical pathologic changes of equine piroplasmosis in donkeys. This study aims to investigate the impacts of babesiosis on various hematological and biochemical properties in naturally infected donkeys with Theileria equi and Babesia caballi.

Methods

A total of 200 apparently healthy donkeys were randomly examined for the presence of equine piroplasmosis in blood samples. Of 200 samples, 11(5.5%) animals were positive for T. equi and 3(1.5%) of the samples were infected with B. caballi. 14 uninfected donkeys, were also selected as a control group.

Results

The results of the comparison showed that infected donkeys presented a significant elevation (P < 0.05) of total leukocyte count, number of lymphocyte, monocyte, neutrophil and eosinophil, while showed a significant decreased in (P < 0.05) hemoglobin concentration (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cells (RBCs), mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). The infected donkeys had significantly higher levels of total protein and total bilirubin (P < 0.05), whereas the amount of albumin was significantly lower in comparison to healthy animals (P < 0.05). It is interesting to note that the amounts of urea, cholesterol, creatinine, triglyceride, LDL and HDL, CK, AST, LDH, GGT, and Malondialdehyde were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in infected donkeys.

Conclusions

The current study describes laboratory findings in the affected donkeys which were good criteria for diagnosis and control of equine piroplasmosis in donkeys.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to sincerely thank the members of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Urmia University Research Council for the approval and support of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

    Neda Ahmadi Afshar

  2. Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

    Farnaz Malekifard & Mousa Tavassoli

  3. Department of Internal Diseases and Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

    Siamak Asri Rezaei

Authors
  1. Neda Ahmadi Afshar
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  2. Farnaz Malekifard
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Correspondence to Farnaz Malekifard.

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Authors disclose no potential conflict of interests.

Ethical approval

Collection of blood samples from donkeys was performed by skilled and trained veterinarians following proper physical restraint of donkeys to reduce the potential painful stimuli and ensure both animal safety and personnel. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University (approval number: IRR-UU-AEC-1421).

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Ahmadi Afshar, N., Malekifard, F., Asri Rezaei, S. et al. Hematological and Biochemical Changes in Naturally Occurring Equine Piroplasmosis in Donkeys (Equus asinus) of Northwest of Iran. Acta Parasit. 65, 811–816 (2020). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11686-020-00223-0

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