Seroprevalence ofspp. andinfections in horses: first report from Northern Bulgaria - Short communication.

Abstract

Lyme borreliosis, granulocytic anaplasmosis and monocytic ehrlichiosis are well studied in humans and dogs. In horses, these diseases are not widely investigated and limited information is available about their occurrence. The purpose of this study was to present the first ELISA-based report on the seroprevalence ofspp. andin horses from Northern Bulgaria. A total of 192 horses were investigated from three regions in Northern Bulgaria (Northwestern, North-Central and Northeastern Bulgaria). All equine sera were tested forspp. andantibodies by a commercial rapid ELISA test. Antibodies againstwere found in all the three regions at a mean frequency of 12% (23/192), ranging from 9.38 to 15.63% by region. Antibodies againstspp. were found in horses from one region (Northeastern) at a rate of 0.5% (1/192). Antiantibodies were detected in all the three regions with a mean frequency of 15.1% (29/192), ranging from 14.06 to 17.19% by region. A co-exposure toandwas observed in 6.3% of the cases (12/192). This is the first report on the natural exposure of horses to these bacteria (spp. and) in Northern Bulgaria.