Prevalence of Anaplasma marginale in cattle from Zamora Chinchipe province, Ecuador

Abstract

Zamora Chinchipe is a province belonging to the southern part of the Ecuadorian Amazon. It has a climate ranging from a humid subtropical to tropical regime. Bovine anaplasmosis has been clinically diagnosed in such area, without a greater study, evidencing its prevalence and control. The aim of the present study was to determine Anaplasma marginale prevalence by visualization under the microscope of blood smears stained with Giemsa. Six hundred blood samples from asymptomatic animals from 4 sectors of the province were analyzed. Of them, 49,5 % were positive, without having significant differences among the animals of the sectors studied. The prevalence analysis in the Canton showed values of 46,5 % in males and 50.3% in females. In terms of age, there were 57,7 % in animals less than one year, 47,6 % in animals aged one to two years, 47,1 % in animals older than four years, and 41,7 % in animals between two and four years, with no significant differences. These results constitute the first study on Anaplasma marginale prevalence in Zamora Chichipe, Ecuador.

Key words: Anaplasma marginale, hemoparasite, prevalence, diagnosis.