Reemerging of natural infection by Trypanosoma evansi in horses in Arari, Marajó Island, Brazil

Abstract

Two outbreaks of trypanosomiasis by Trypanosoma evansi in horses in the municipality of Chaves, Marajó Island, Pará State, Brazil are reported. The first outbreak occurred in April 2011 in a farm with 147 horses; of these, 47 (31.97%) got sick, and 40 (27.21%) died. The second outbreak occurred in May 2012 and involved nine properties. Of a total of 679 horses, 209 (30.07%) got sick, and 183 (26.97%) died. The main clinical signs observed in these horses were weight loss, abdominal edema, toe dragging, and pelvic muscle atrophy. Necropsy was performed in two horses, one from each outbreak. Macroscopic alterations were not seen in the horse from the first outbreak; however, the horse from the second outbreak exhibited emaciation, pallor and icterus, as well as enlarged spleen with prominent white pulp at cut surface. Histopathology of the central nervous system of both animals revealed mild to severe, diffuse lymphoplasmacytic encephalitis, with presence of Mott cells. Immunohistochemistry for T. evansi revealed structures similar to intralesional trypomastigote forms. Between November and December of 2013, an epidemiological survey was carried out in the municipalities of Cachoeira do Arari, Santa Cruz do Arari, Salvaterra, Soure, and Chaves. Only Santa Cruz do Arari and Chaves had reported cases of the disease. Blood samples were collected from 243 horses for detection of T. evansi DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and 20 were positive.