ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

Seroprevalence of antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi in domestic rabbits in Nigeria

 

 

E.A. Okewole

Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

 

 

---

ABSTRACT

Serum samples from 237 randomized rabbits from the five ecological zones of Nigeria, i.e. Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE), Southwest (SW) and Northcentral (NC), were evaluated for the presence of antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi by the indirect immunofluorescent antibodies test. A titre of 10 or more was taken as positive. Thirty-nine (16.5 %) of the 237 samples were positive with 11, 10, 8, 6 and 4 seropositive rabbits occurring in the NW, NE, SE, SW and NC zones of Nigeria, respectively. Age, sex, live mass and access to grass as a feed supplement were not statistically (P > 0.05) associated with seropositivity, but cage type (single-versus multi-rabbit type), contact with free-range rats and previous illness were strongly (P < 0.05) associated with it. The practice of selling unscreened and untreated 5 to 10-week-old weaners to prospective buyers as foundation stock, use of multi-rabbit communal cages, occasional release of rabbits in runs and contact with free-range house rats should be discouraged. Regular prophylactic and curative treatments, occasional serological screening to remove carriers, and the practice of a high level of hygiene in rabbit colonies are effective control measures.

Keywords: Encephalitozoon cuniculi, Nigeria, rabbits, seroprevalence

---

 

 

“Full text available only in PDF format”

 

 

REFERENCES

BOOTS, R. 2002. Serologisch onderzock van konijen op infectic met Encephalitozoon cuniculi. Tijdschrift voor Diergenees-kunde, 127:426-427.         [ Links ]

CALI, A., KOTLER, D.P. & ORENSTEIN, J.M. 1993. Septata intestinalis n.g., n. sp., an intestinal microsporidan associated with chronic diarrhoea and dissemination in AIDS patients. Journal of Protozoology, 40:101-112.         [ Links ]

COX, J.C. & PYE, D. 1975. Serodiagnosis of nosematosis by immunofluorescence using cell culture grown organisms. Laboratory Animal, 9:297-304.         [ Links ]

COX, J.C., PYE, D., EDMONDS, J.W. & SHEPHERD, R. 1980. An investigation of Encephalitozoon cuniculi in the rabbit, Oryctolagus cuniculi in Victoria, Australia. Journal of Hygiene, 84:295-300.         [ Links ]

CUNNING, E.U. & LOM, J. 1986. The microsporidia of vertebrates. New York: Academic Press.         [ Links ]

DIDIER, E.S., ORENSTEIN, J.M., ALDRAS, A.M., BERTUCCI, D., ROGERS, L.B. & JANNEY, F.A. 1995. Comparison of three staining methods for detecting microsporidia in fluids. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 33:3138-3145.         [ Links ]

DIDIER, E.S., VISVESVARA, G.S., BAKER, M.D., ROGERS, L. B., BERTUCCI, D.C., DE GROOTE, M.A. & VOSS BRINCK, C.R. 1996. A microsporidian isolated from an AIDS patient corresponds to the Encephalitozoon cuniculi strain III originally isolated from domestic dogs. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 24:2835-2837.         [ Links ]

DIDIER, P., DIDIER, E.S., SNOWDEN, K. & SHADDUCK, J.A. 1998. Encephalitozoonosis, in Infectious diseases of the dog and cat, 2^nd ed., edited by C.E. Greene. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co.         [ Links ]

GANNON, J. 1980. The course of infection of Encephalitozoon cuniculi in immunodeficient and immunocompetent mice. Laboratory Animal, 14:189-192.         [ Links ]

HARCOURT-BROWN, F.M. & HOLLOWAY, H.K.R. 2003. Encephalitozoon cuniculi in pet rabbits. Veterinary Record, 152:427-431.         [ Links ]

HARCOURT-BROWN, F. 2002. Infectious diseases of domestic rabbits, in Text book of rabbit medicine, 1^st ed. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.         [ Links ]

KEEBLE, E.J. & SHAW, D.J. 2006. Seroprevalence of antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi in domestic rabbits in the United Kingdom. Veterinary Record, 158:539-544.         [ Links ]

KIMMAN, T.G. & AKKERMANNS, J.P. 1987. Encephalitozoon cuniculi in a rabbit breeding colony (English Abstract) Tijdschrift voor Diergeneeskunde, 112:1405-1409.         [ Links ]

KUCEROVA-POSPISILOVA, Z., CARR, D., LEITCH, G., SCANLON, M. & VISVESVARA, G.S. 1999. Environmental resistance of Encephalitozoon spore. Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology, 46:115-135.         [ Links ]

LYNGSET, A. 1980. A survey of serum antibodies to Encephalitozoon cuniculi in breeding rabbits and their young. Laboratory Animal Science, 30:558-561.         [ Links ]

MULLER-DOBLIES, U.U., HERZOG, K., TANNER, L., MATHIS, A. & DEPLAZES, P. 2002. First isolation and characterization of Encephalitozoon cuniculi from a free-ranging rat (Rattus norvegicus). Veterinary Parasitology, 107:279-285.         [ Links ]

SNEDCOR, G.W. & COCHRAN, W.G. 1967. Sampling from a normally distributed population, in Statistical methods, 6^th ed. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press.         [ Links ]

THOMAS, C., FINN, M., TWIGG, L., DEPLAZES, P. & THOMPSON, R.C.A. 1997. Microsporidia (Encephalitozoon cuniculi) in wild rabbits in Australia. Australian Veterinary Journal, 75: 808-810.         [ Links ]

VAN GOOL, T., SNIJDERS, F., REISS, P., EEFTINCK SCHATTENKERT, J.K., VAN DEN BERGH WEERMAN, M.A., BARTELSMAN, J.F., BRUINS, J.J., CANNING, E.U. & DANKERT, J. 1993. Diagnosis of intestinal and disseminated micro-sporidial infections in patients with HIV by a new rapid fluorescence technique. Journal of Clinical Pathology, 46:694-699.         [ Links ]

WILSON, J.M. 1979. The biology of Encephalitozoon cuniculi. Medical Biology, 57:84-101.         [ Links ]

 

 

Accepted for publication 27 July 2007-Editor

 

 

* E-mail: doctorokewole@yahoo.com