Vol. 11, Special Issue 3 (2022)

Author(s):
Swetapadma Sarangi, M Vijaya Bharathi, M Madhanmohan, C Soundararajan, TV Meenambigai, NR Senthil and Pagadala Revathi

Abstract:
The aim of the present study was to explore the prevalence of trypanosomiasis in horses. A total of 55 whole blood samples along with blood smears were collected from clinically suspected horses exhibiting signs of anorexia, lethargy, weight loss, and fever, presented at Madras Veterinary College Teaching Hospital, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai during the period from September- 2021 to December- 2021. Blood smears were examined for the presence of organism. Molecular diagnosis was carried out using polymerase chain reaction amplifying repeatative sequence probe pMu Tec 6.428 in genomic DNA of Trypanosoma evansi. Blood smear examination revealed 9.1 (5/55) per cent of horses were positive for Trypanosma evansi whereas PCR detected 12.7 (7/55) per cent positivity. This results suggested that the PCR technique may be effectively used to detect trypanosomiasis in horses.