Vol. 11, Issue 8 (2022)

Author(s):
M Fibi Rani, GS Sreenivasamurthy, M Udaya Kumar and P Kalyani

Abstract:
Trypanosoma evansi, a kinetoplast haemoprotozoan is the most pathogenic parasite in animals, causing a significant disease called “SURRA”. The objective of the present study is to determine the prevalence rates of canine Trypanosomosis using the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) assay and parasitological techniques like wet blood film examination and Giemsa staining techniques. Out of 314 canine blood samples examined, 5 (1.59%) dogs were found positive by Giemsa staining technique, only 3(0.95%) dogs were found positive by peripheral wet blood film examination, whereas Polymerase Chain Reaction assay targeting the partial Variable Surface Glycoprotein gene has amplified a 205bp length product in 24 samples with an overall prevalence of 7.64% in and around Hyderabad, Telangana, India. These findings suggest that the Polymerase chain reaction assay is a more sensitive and specific diagnostic tool than parasitological techniques for the detection of Trypanosoma evansi in the infected dog’s blood.