FAQ
Jagiellonian University logo

Attempted Transmission of Trypanosoma evansi to Rats and Mice by Direct Ingestion of Contaminated Blood and via Engorged Ticks

Publication date: 15.05.2011

Acta Protozoologica, 2011, Volume 50, Issue 2, pp. 133 - 136

https://doi.org/10.4467/16890027AP.11.014.0014

Authors

,
Timothée Vergne
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Montpellier, France
All publications →
,
Ketsarin Kamyinkird
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand
All publications →
,
Marc Desquesnes
Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Montpellier, France; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand
All publications →
Sathaporn Jittapalapong
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand
All publications →

Titles

Attempted Transmission of Trypanosoma evansi to Rats and Mice by Direct Ingestion of Contaminated Blood and via Engorged Ticks

Abstract

Trypanosoma evansi is a blood parasite principally transmitted by mechanical vectors (tabanids and stable flies) in large animals such as livestock. However, in other types of hosts, such as carnivores and rodents, oral transmission may be more important. In this experiment, attempts were made to infect rats and mice by the peroral route using infected blood, and ticks engorged on infected rats, in order to evaluate the potential role of ticks as passive vectors of trypanosomes. A strain of Trypanosoma evansi isolated from a cow in Thailand was grown in a rat and blood was collected at the peak of parasitaemia. In the first experiment, 5 rats and 5 mice were fed respectively with 1 ml and 0.5 ml of blood containing 107 Trypanosoma evansi/ml. In the second experiment, adult ticks belonging to the species Rhipicephalus sanguineus, which had fed on parasitaemic rats, were given as food to 3 healthy rats. For both experiments, the presence of parasites in the blood of the rats and mice was checked daily for 10 days, then every 2 days for the following 20 days. Within an average of 4.5 days post blood ingestion (from 4 to 5), 80% (CI95% 29–99) of the rats exhibited parasites by direct microscopic examination of the blood. Similarly, with an average of 4.7 days post ingestion (from 4 to 6), 60% (CI95% 15–95) of the mice exhibited blood parasites. After tick ingestion, no parasites were found in the blood of the rats fed with infected engorged ticks. Consequently, in this experiment, as in others, rats and mice appeared to be receptive by the oral route, but the possible role of ticks as a passive vector could not be demonstrated. Other models could be explored, involving the cattle tick (Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus), to investigate the link from large to small animals.

References

Download references

Arias J. F., Garcia F., Rivera M., Lopez R. (1997) Trypanosoma evansi in capybara from Venezuela. J. Wildl. Dis33: 359–361

Bhaskararao T., Balarama R. P., Harrarama D. J., Hafeez M. (1995) Some observations on an outbreak of surra in circus tigers. Indian. Vet. J72: 1210–1221

Cardoso A., Lescano S., Amato Neto V., Gakyia E., Santos S. (2006) Survival of Trypanosoma cruzi in sugar cane used to prepare juice. Rev. Inst. Med. Trop. S. Paulo48: 287–289

Coura J. R. (2006) Transmission of chagasic infection by oral route in the natural history of Chagas’ disease. Rev. Soc. Bras. Med. Trop39: 113–117.

Curasson G. (1943) Trypanosoma vivax et variétés. In: Traité de protozoologie vétérinaire et comparée Tome 1 Trypanosomes, (Ed. Vigot Frères), Paris, 270–278

da Silva A., Ceolin L., Oliveira C., Monteiro S. and Doyle R. (2007) Oral infection by Trypanosoma evansi in rats and mice. Ciencias Rural 37: 897–900.

Desquesnes M. (2004) Livestock trypanosomoses and their vectors in Latin America. CIRAD-EMVT publication, OIE, Paris. ISBN 92-9044-634-X, URL. http://www.oie.int/doc/ged/D9818.PDF

Franke C. R., Greiner M., Mehlitz D. (1994) Investigations on naturally occurring Trypanosoma evansi infections in horses, cattle, dogs and capybaras (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) in Pantanal de Pocone (Mato Grosso, Brazil). Acta Trop58: 159–169

Hoare C. A. (1965) Vampires bats as vectors and hosts of equine and bovine trypanosomes. Acta Trop22: 204–209

Hoare C. A. (1972) The trypanosomes of mammals. A Zoological Monograph. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, U.K., 749 pp.

Jittapalapong S., Inpankaew T., Sarataphan N., Herbreteau V., Hugot J. P., Morand S., Stich R. W. (2008) Molecular detection of divergent trypanosomes among rodents of Thailand. Infect. Genet. Evol8: 445–449

Maraghi S., Wallbanks K. R., Molyneux D. H. (1995) Oral transmission of the subgenus Herpetosoma from small mammals. Parasitol. Res. 81: 693–695

Moloo S. K., Losos G. J., Kutuza S. B. (1973) Transmission of Trypanosoma brucei to cat and dogs by feeding on infected goats. Trans. Roy. Soc. Trop. Med. Hyg67: 287

R-Development-Core-Team (2008) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL. http://www.rproject.org.

Raina A. K., Kumar R., Rajora V. S., Sridhar, Singh R. P. (1985) Oral transmission of Trypanosoma evansi infection in dogs and mice. Vet. Parasitol18: 67–69

Woo P. T. K. (1969) The haematocrit centrifuge technique for the detection of Trypanosomes in blood. Can. J. Zool47: 921–923

Information

Information: Acta Protozoologica, 2011, Volume 50, Issue 2, pp. 133 - 136

Article type: Original article

Authors

Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Montpellier, France

Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand

Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), Montpellier, France; Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand

Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand

Published at: 15.05.2011

Article status: Open

Licence: None

Percentage share of authors:

Timothée Vergne (Author) - 25%
Ketsarin Kamyinkird (Author) - 25%
Marc Desquesnes (Author) - 25%
Sathaporn Jittapalapong (Author) - 25%

Article corrections:

-

Publication languages:

English