Equine trypanosomosis: enigmas and diagnostic challenges

Parasites & Vectors

Laurent Hébert¹  Noboru Inoue²  Keisuke Suganuma²  Mary Isabel Gonzatti³  Philippe Büscher⁴  Nick Van Reet⁴  Ilaria Pascucci⁵  Achim Schnaufer⁶  Louis Touratier⁷ 

[1] 0000 0001 0584 7022, grid.15540.35, PhEED Unit, Animal Health Laboratory in Normandy, ANSES, 14430, Goustranville, France;0000 0001 0688 9267, grid.412310.5, Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, 080-8555, Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan;0000 0001 1954 8293, grid.412358.9, Departamento de Biología Celular, Universidad Simón Bolívar, 1080, Caracas, Venezuela;0000 0001 2153 5088, grid.11505.30, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium;0000 0004 1805 1770, grid.419578.6, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dellʼAbruzzo e del Molise “G.Caporale”, Campo Boario, 64100, Teramo, Italy;0000 0004 1936 7988, grid.4305.2, Centre for Immunity, Infection and Evolution, Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, University of Edinburgh, Charlotte Auerbach Road, EH9 3FL, Edinburgh, UK;Consultant member of the OIE Non-Tsetse Transmitted Animal Trypanosomoses Network, Bordeaux, France;

关键词: Equine;    Dourine;    Nagana;    Surra;    Diagnosis;    Trypanosoma brucei;    Trypanosoma congolense;    Trypanosoma equiperdum;    Trypanosoma evansi;    Trypanosoma vivax;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13071-019-3484-x

来源: publisher

【 摘 要 】

Equine trypanosomosis is a complex of infectious diseases called dourine, nagana and surra. It is caused by several species of the genus Trypanosoma that are transmitted cyclically by tsetse flies, mechanically by other haematophagous flies, or sexually. Trypanosoma congolense (subgenus Nannomonas) and T. vivax (subgenus Dutonella) are genetically and morphologically distinct from T. brucei, T. equiperdum and T. evansi (subgenus Trypanozoon). It remains controversial whether the three latter taxa should be considered distinct species. Recent outbreaks of surra and dourine in Europe illustrate the risk and consequences of importation of equine trypanosomosis with infected animals into non-endemic countries. Knowledge on the epidemiological situation is fragmentary since many endemic countries do not report the diseases to the World Organisation for Animal Health, OIE. Other major obstacles to the control of equine trypanosomosis are the lack of vaccines, the inability of drugs to cure the neurological stage of the disease, the inconsistent case definition and the limitations of current diagnostics. Especially in view of the ever-increasing movement of horses around the globe, there is not only the obvious need for reliable curative and prophylactic drugs but also for accurate diagnostic tests and algorithms. Unfortunately, clinical signs are not pathognomonic, parasitological tests are not sufficiently sensitive, serological tests miss sensitivity or specificity, and molecular tests cannot distinguish the taxa within the Trypanozoon subgenus. To address the limitations of the current diagnostics for equine trypanosomosis, we recommend studies into improved molecular and serological tests with the highest possible sensitivity and specificity. We realise that this is an ambitious goal, but it is dictated by needs at the point of care. However, depending on available treatment options, it may not always be necessary to identify which trypanosome taxon is responsible for a given infection.

【 授权许可】

CC BY