AUTHOR=Papini Roberto Amerigo , Lubas George , Sgorbini Micaela 

TITLE=Incidental Detection of Onchocerca Microfilariae in Donkeys (Equus asinus) in Italy: Report of Four Cases

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2020.569916

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2020.569916

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p>This paper reports the occurrence for the first time in Italy of autochthonous <italic>Onchocerca</italic> infection in donkeys. Four jennies, bred on the same farm, were referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Pisa for a check-up on ovarian activity (<italic>n</italic> = 3) or for veterinary support during the delivery (<italic>n</italic> = 1). Microfilariae were incidentally detected during the blood smear examination of one jenny. Peripheral blood samples were then collected from the other three jennies and the presence of microfilariae was investigated by Knott's test. Circulating unsheathed microfilariae were identified in all the animals. The level of microfilaraemia was between 1 and 31 microfilariae in 2 mL of blood. Hematological changes showed moderate eosinophilia in one case or both remarkable eosinophilia and basophilia in another case. Based on molecular findings by PCR and sequencing, the microfilariae showed 98% sequence similarity with <italic>Onchocerca</italic> sp. in the NCBI GenBank database (Accession No.: <ext-link ext-link-type="DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank" xlink:href="MK541848.1" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">MK541848.1</ext-link>). The present report provides evidence that <italic>Onchocerca</italic> is an etiological agent of parasitic infection in donkeys in Italy. Our findings highlight the importance of screening in donkeys for <italic>Onchocerca</italic> even in the absence of clinical indications.</p>