First report of surra (Trypanosoma evansi infection) in a Tunisian dog

• Main Authors: Rjeibi Mohamed Ridha, Ben Hamida Taoufik, Dalgatova Zara, Mahjoub Tarek, Rejeb Ahmed, Dridi Walid, Gharbi Mohamed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2015-01-01
• Series: Parasite
• Subjects: Surra; Dog; Trypanosoma evansi; Molecular identification; Tunisia
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/parasite/2015004

Trypanosoma evansi, the agent of surra, is a salivarian trypanosome, originating from Africa. Surra is a major disease in camels, equines and dogs, in which it can often be fatal in the absence of treatment. Animals exhibit nonspecific clinical signs (anaemia, loss of weight and abortion). In the present survey, a blood sample was collected in Sousse (Central Tunisia) from a dog that presented clinical signs of trypanosomiasis. Giemsa-stained blood smears and PCR were performed. ITS1 sequences from blood had 99.8 and 99.5% homology with published T. evansi sequences from cattle and camels, respectively. To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. evansi in a Tunisian dog.