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Hematology and biochemical values in equines naturally infected with Theileria equi in Nigeria

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Abstract

Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease of equines with resultant economic consequences. To date, little information is available regarding the effects of EP on the health of equids in Nigeria. Therefore, this study was carried out to ascertain the effects of natural sub-clinical infection with T. equi on the hematology and biochemical profiles of horses and donkeys. Blood and serum samples were subjected to hematology and serum biochemistry analyses, respectively. Data corresponding to PCR-positive (infected) and PCR-negative (uninfected) was computed to ascertain changes in any of the parameters. Hematological significant findings (P<0.001) in both horses and donkeys include decreased packed cell volume (PCV), red blood cell (RBC) count, hemoglobin (Hb) concentration, and white blood cell (WBC) counts in the infected group compared to the uninfected group. In horses, the PCV (%) and Hb (g/dL) values were 40.6±1.0 and 13.4±1.7 in the uninfected group compared with 30.8±0.6 and 10.1±0.3 in the infected group respectively and differs significantly (P<0.001). Similarly, in the donkeys, the PCV (%) and Hb (g/dL) values were 32.2 ± 0.5 and 10.5 ± 0.2 in the uninfected group compared with 28.5±0.7 and 9.5±0.2 in the infected group respectively with significant difference (P<0.001). Additionally, we observed a slight decrease in WBC counts (×103/μL) in the infected group in horses (9.9±0.4) and donkeys (10.2±4.3) compared with 10.5±2.0 and 13.0±0.8 from the uninfected respectively. Serum biochemical profiles revealed slight increase in the levels of total proteins principally the globulin fractions in the infected group in both equids. The findings from this study will be helpful in the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment evaluation of equines in Nigeria.

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Data availability

All datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

We thank animal owners for their cooperation. Special thanks to Theresa Okute, Evaristus Nwaro, and Armstrong Imeh Ekong for their useful suggestions during the course of the work. Sampling will not have been possible without the technical assistance of Adamu Aliyu and Hayatudden Ibrahim.

Funding

The first author was financially supported by the North West University (NWU) South Africa Post graduate student bursary. This study was made possible by the National Research Foundation (NRF) Incentive Funding for Rated Researchers (GUN94187 and GUN118949) made available to OT. The Grantholder acknowledges that opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in any publication generated by the NRF supported research is that of the author(s), and that the NRF accepts no liability whatsoever in this regard.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unit for Environmental Sciences and Management, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, Private Bag X6001, Potchefstroom, 2520, South Africa

    ThankGod E. Onyiche & Oriel Thekisoe

  2. Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology, University of Maiduguri, P. M. B. 1069, Maiduguri, 600230, Nigeria

    ThankGod E. Onyiche, Samson A. Malgwi & Abdullahi A. Biu

  3. Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Maiduguri, P. M. B. 1069, Maiduguri, 600230, Nigeria

    Ephraim Igwenagu

  4. Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Maiduguri, P. M. B. 1069, Maiduguri, 600230, Nigeria

    Isaac J. Omeh

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  1. ThankGod E. Onyiche
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  2. Ephraim Igwenagu
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  3. Samson A. Malgwi
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  4. Isaac J. Omeh
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Contributions

TEO and OT conceived and designed the research. TEO conducted experiments. TEO, EI, SAM, IJO, AAB, and OT analyzed data. TEO wrote manuscript draft. EI, SAM, IJO, AAB, and OT critically reviewed the article. OT supervised the study and helped in the acquisition of funding. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to ThankGod E. Onyiche.

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Permission to carry out the study was approved by the animal research ethics committee of the North-West University South Africa with ethics number NWU-01242-19-S9 in line with the guidelines of the committee.

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Onyiche, T.E., Igwenagu, E., Malgwi, S.A. et al. Hematology and biochemical values in equines naturally infected with Theileria equi in Nigeria. Trop Anim Health Prod 54, 103 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-022-03095-w

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