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Serological Survey of Babesia bigemina and Babesia bovis in Cattle and Water Buffaloes from Menoufia Province, Egypt

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Abstract

Purpose

Bovine babesiosis causes morbidity in tropical and subtropical countries worldwide. The present study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of Babesia bigemina and B. bovis in cattle and water buffaloes in Menoufia province, where the second-highest population of bovines in Lower Egypt are raised.

Materials and Methods

A total of 506 blood samples were collected from cattle (N = 262) and water buffaloes (N = 244) in Menoufia province, Egypt. Seroprevalences of B. bigemina and B. bovis in the samples were determined using recombinant Babesia antigen-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA).

Results

In cattle, the seroprevalences of B. bigemina and B. bovis were 41.60 and 38.17% (37.40 and 35.88% for IgM and 9.54 and 6.11% for IgG), respectively, whereas those of water buffaloes were 35.66 and 31.97% (27.87 and 21.72% for IgM and 15.16 and 15.16% for IgG), respectively. Statistically significant changes in the seroprevalences of the two infective agents were recorded on the basis of region and season of sample collection.

Conclusion

In conclusion, babesiosis is frequent and presents a threat of an epidemic among bovines in Menoufia province. In turn, control of bovine babesiosis is required because of its potential to detrimentally affect milk and meat production in Menoufia province.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the veterinarians for their help and kind assistance in collecting and preparing the field samples. This study was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (18kk0188) from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan, and the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science Core-to-Core Program.

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Author notes

  1. Hany M. Ibrahim and Eloiza May S. Galon contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Menoufia University, Shebin El-Kom, Egypt

    Hany M. Ibrahim, Khaled Mohammed-Geba, Sherin K. Sheir, Asmaa Galal-Khallaf, Heba M. Abd El Latif, Dalia S. Morsi & Nora M. Bishr

  2. National Research Center for Protozoan Diseases, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Inada-cho, Obihiro, Hokkaido, 080-8555, Japan

    Eloiza May S. Galon, Maria Agnes Tumwebaze, Benedicto Byamukama, Mingming Liu & Xuenan Xuan

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Contributions

Conceptualization and design of the study: HMI and XX. Sample collection: HMI and NMB. Laboratory assays: HMI, HMA, DSM, KM-G, SKS and AG-K. Data analysis: HMI and EMG. Drafting of the manuscript: HMI, EMG and MAT. Editing and revising: HMI, EMG, MAT, BB, LM and XX. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hany M. Ibrahim or Xuenan Xuan.

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Conflict of interest

None of the authors of this work has a financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper.

Ethical approval

Sampling in the public markets in Menoufia was permitted by the local administrators of the market. The purpose and procedures involved in the present study were explained and informed consent from all farmers was obtained prior to blood sample collection of their animals. All field sampling and laboratory procedures were carried out according to the ethical guidelines for use of animal samples of Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido, Japan (Permit for animal experiment: 19-15) and the Institutional Animal Ethical Committee, Menoufia University, Egypt (approval ID: MUFS/F/IM/2/17).

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Ibrahim, H.M., Galon, E.M.S., Tumwebaze, M.A. et al. Serological Survey of Babesia bigemina and Babesia bovis in Cattle and Water Buffaloes from Menoufia Province, Egypt. Acta Parasit. 66, 1458–1465 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-021-00338-y

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