Prevalence of Endoglobular Hemotropic Parasites in Pure Gyr Cattle in Córdoba, Colombia

Abstract

Bovine parasitic sadness produces significant losses in Colombia and it is associated with the presence of ticks. It is caused by microscopic endoglobular hemotropic parasites such as <em>Anaplasma</em> spp. and <em>Babesia</em> spp. In this study, 131 pure Gyr cows were studied from four cattle farms in Córdoba, Colombia. A blood sample of 5 ml was collected from the coccygeal vein for hematocrit determination and for blood smears stained with Wright’s stain, in order to assess intracellular parasitic forms morphologically compatible with <em>Anaplasma</em> spp. and <em>Babesia</em> spp. Chi-square test was used to determine whether the variables of body condition, mucous color, sex and production system (grazing, semi-confinement, and confinement) were independent from the frequency of endoglobular hemotropic parasites. The study found that 24.43% of the sampled animals were positive for endoglobular hemotropic parasites 20.61% (27/131) of them were positive for <em>Anaplasma</em> spp. 3.05% (4/131) for <em>Babesia</em> spp., and 0.76% (1/131) for both <em>Anaplasma</em> spp. and <em>Babesia</em> spp. No significant differences (p > 0.05) were found for variables of mucous color, sex and production system (grazing, semi-confinement, and confinement). This allowed to register for the first time the prevalence of infection by endoglobular hemotropic parasites in <em>Bos indicus</em> cattle, of the Gyr breed specifically.