Vet World Vol.17 November-2024 Article - 17
Research Article
Veterinary World, 17(11): 2577-2585
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.2577-2585
Coinfection of gastrointestinal parasites with paratuberculosis in naturally infected sheep
2. Department of Veterinary Pathology and Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
3. Department of Clinical Veterinary Medical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan
Background and Aim: Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) causes Johne’s disease (paratuberculosis), which is a chronic wasting disease. No previous study has been found to investigate the coinfection of gastrointestinal parasites with paratuberculosis. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between paratuberculosis and gastrointestinal parasitism in naturally infected local Awassi (AS) and imported Tsurcana (TS) sheep.
Materials and Methods: A total of 207 sheep (118 AS and 89 TS) were randomly selected from local butcher shops and slaughterhouses. Fecal and tissue samples from the ileum and mesenteric lymph nodes were collected. Fecal samples were screened for the presence of parasitic ova and oocysts. Hematoxylin-and-eosin-stained and Ziehl–Neelsen-stained tissues were examined for evidence of inflammation, acid-fast bacteria, and parasitic structures. Risk factor analysis was performed using multivariate logistic regression analysis.
Results: Mucosal thickening and corrugation of the ileum were found in AS sheep (74/113 [65.5%], 10/113 [8.8%], respectively) and TS sheep (21/88 [23.9%], 8/88 [9.1%], respectively). Histopathologically, diffuse multibacillary/histiocytic form was detected only in the AS sheep breed. AS sheep had higher levels of acid–fast bacteria in the ileum (70/113 [61.9%]) compared with TS sheep (34/88 [38.6%]). In addition, parasitic structure and severe eosinophilic inflammation were detected in AS (10/113 [8.8%], 108/113 [95.6%], respectively) and TS sheep (2/88 [2.3%], 70/88 [79.5%], respectively). Parasitic infections were detected in fecal samples from 15/118 (12.7%) AS sheep and 11/89 (12.4%) TS sheep. Coinfection between gastrointestinal parasites and paratuberculosis was detected histologically in 8/118 (7.1%) and 2/88 (2.3%) AS and TS sheep, respectively.
Conclusion: Risk factor analysis indicated that the ileum from the AS sheep breed was 2.164 times more likely to have acid–fast bacteria and 2.874 times more likely to have eosinophilic infiltrations than the TS sheep breed. Results of this preliminary study may indicate the role of the sheep in the pathogenesis and shedding of MAP.
Keywords: coinfection, Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis, parasite-pathogen-host relationship, sheep.
How to cite this article: Mukbel RM, Hananeh WM, Radhi A, and Ismail ZB (2024) Coinfection of gastrointestinal parasites with paratuberculosis in naturally infected sheep, Veterinary World, 17(11): 2577-2585.
Received: 2024-07-14 Accepted: 2024-10-10 Published online: 2024-11-22
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.2577-2585
Copyright: Mukbel, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/ publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
