Parasitism of Livestock by Trypanosoma

1. Parasitism of Livestock by Trypanosoma Lisa Cassidy, Fernando Paiva, Priscilla Soares Introduction Objectives Methods 1st Case: San Francisco is a farm in which six of the cows suffered from miscarriages. Trypanosoma is the suspected cause. 2nd Case: Two farms, Nossa Senhora Do Carmo and Pousada Xaraés have horses that lost coordination in their back two legs. The horses were treated with diminazine aceturate to eradicate Trypanosoma if it was present. This procedure was done for all samples of blood collected 1. Collected blood from animal into tubes containing EDTA (Cows/Buffalo/Horses/Dog) Added portion of blood to 2 tubes containing Lit (serum bovine) – one sent to Sao Paolo, the other… Trypansoma is a protozoan parasite that infects a wide variety of hosts.Family: Trypanosomatidae Genus: Trypanosoma Symptoms: Emaciation Fever Miscarriage Rough Coat Ocular discharge Photophobia Hemorrhaging Diagnosis: Analyzing blood Indirect Antibody Staining ELISA method Incubated at 32 o C for 14 days Smeared blood sample on slides and check for living trypanosomes. 2. 500 μl of blood sample added to centrifuge tube containing 500 μl of alcohol – sent to Sao Paolo 3. Filled capillary tubes with blood sample and centrifuged for ten minutes 4.View capillary tube under microscope to check for Trypanosoma Treatment: Often fails to respond to therapy Trypanocides -Diminazene aceturate -Isometamidium Chloride -To determine if the cows’ miscarriages at San Francisco farm are due to infection by Trypanosoma and if the Buffalo on the same farm are infected as well. -To determine if the treatment with diminazine aceturate cured horses’ and dog’s infection at farms Nossa Senhora Do Carmo and Pousada Xaraés. Results Conclusions Cows -The tests suggest that Trypanosoma was not present in their blood and therefore is not responsible for the miscarraiges. -Miscarraige indicates a more advanced infection of Trypanosoma while emaciation occurs earlier on. Since the cows looked healthy and strong, the negative results were expected. • -All tests performed in the UFMS parasitology lab for cows, buffalo, horses, and dogs were negative for Trypanosoma. • Molecular techniques performed in Sao Paolo are required to • confirm the negative results obtainedat UFMS. • Buffalo • The buffalo are more susceptible to having Trypanosoma than cows. • The fact that they were negative for Trypansoma supports the results for the cows. • Horses and dog • - The results obtained by the tests suggest that the treatments with diminazine aceturate were successful in curing their condition. References Greene, E. C. (2006). Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat. St. Louis: Saunders El Sevier. Jones, T. W., & Davila, A. M. (2001). Trypanosoma vivax - out of Africa. Trends in Parasitology , 99-101. Osorio, A. L., Madruga, C. R., Desquesnes, M., Soares, C. O., Ribeiro, L. R., & Goncalves da Costa, S. C. (2008). Trypanosoma (Duttonella) vivax: its biology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, and introduction in the New World - a review. Mem Inst Oswald Cruz , 1-13. Acknowledgements Fernando Paiva, PhD.Priscilla Soares, Undergraduate