ABSTRACT
Lyme disease is a tick-borne zoonotic disease caused by spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. It is transmitted from animals to humans by the bite of infected ticks of the genus Ixodes. Although Lyme disease has been reported in China and Japan, the disease has never been reported in Thailand. Blood samples and ticks were collected from 402 dogs from 7 and 3 animal clinics in Chiang Mai and Phuket Provinces, Thailand, respectively. Blood samples were tested for antibodies against B. burgdorferi, Anaplasma spp, Ehrlichia spp and Dirofilaria immitis using a commercial kit, and positive blood samples were subjected to nested PCR assay for B. burgdorferi fla, ospA and ospC, amplicons of which also were sequenced. Only one dog (from Chiang Mai) was positive for B. burgdorferi, with 97% to 100% genetic identity, depending on the sequences used for comparison, with strains from United State of America. All 376 ticks collected were Rhipicephalus sanguineus, but no tick was found on the infected dog. Further investigations of the infection source and vector are needed to understand potential risks of Lyme disease to dogs and humans in Thailand.
Subject(s)
Borrelia burgdorferi/isolation & purification , Dog Diseases/parasitology , Lyme Disease/veterinary , Animals , Arachnid Vectors , Borrelia burgdorferi/genetics , Dog Diseases/genetics , Dogs , Insect Vectors , ThailandABSTRACT
Visceral pentastomiasis (porocephalosis) caused by Armillifer armillatus larvae was incidentally diagnosed in a female striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) of unknown age which died unexpectedly in 2013. The hyena had been imported from Tanzania 8years earlier and have been since then in a zoo in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand. Pathological examination revealed visceral nymph migrans of pentastomes throughout the intestine, liver, diaphragm, omentum and mesentery, spleen, kidneys, and urinary bladder. Polymerase chain reaction and sequencing that targeted the pentastomid-specific 18S rRNA gene determined 100% identity with reference sequence for A. armillatus, suggesting that its ova can infect the hyena to serve as an intermediate host for the parasite. Further studies to identify the source of infection, its risk factors, and host range for A. armillatus are important to determine its zoonotic potential and to better prevent and manage the disease to protect animal and human health.
Subject(s)
Ectoparasitic Infestations/veterinary , Hyaenidae/parasitology , Animals , Ectoparasitic Infestations/diagnosis , Ectoparasitic Infestations/parasitology , Ectoparasitic Infestations/pathology , Female , Humans , Kidney/parasitology , Kidney/pathology , Liver/parasitology , Liver/pathology , Molecular Sequence Data , Nymph , Pentastomida/anatomy & histology , Pentastomida/genetics , Pentastomida/growth & development , Pentastomida/physiology , RNA, Ribosomal, 18S , Spleen/parasitology , Spleen/pathology , Thailand , Zoonoses/parasitologyABSTRACT
We tested refugee camp residents on the Thailand-Myanmar border for Taenia solium infection. Taeniasis prevalence was consistent with that for other disease-endemic regions, but seropositivity indicating T. solium taeniasis was rare. Seropositivity indicating cysticercosis was 5.5% in humans, and 3.2% in pigs. Corralling pigs and providing latrines may control transmission of these tapeworms within this camp.
