Spatial analysis for Canine babesiosis cases reportSpatial analysis for Canine babesiosis cases reported in a Clinical Veterinary Laboratory located in Lima – Peru in 2015 - 2016ed in a Clinical Veterinary Laboratory located in Lima – Peru in 2015 - 2016
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1
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Peru
Abstract: The objective of this study was to georeference with the QGIS software the cases of Babesia sp. reported from complete blood counts in Lima - Peru. A predominance of males was obtained and the most frequent age was less than 1 year. The heat map showed higher number of cases in the northern area of the city. For the most relevant district it was obtained that the main alterations were mild anemia and thrombocytopenia. The main coinfection was with ehrlichiosis.
Key words: Peru, babesia, Georeferencing, Complete Blood Count, Heat map
INTRODUCTION
Canine babesiosis is a disease caused by a protozoon called Babesia sp. This organism has red blood cells as target cells, in which it performs its replication by binary fission (Skotarczak, 2008).
For the natural transmission of babesiosis an intermediate host is necessary, the main one is the brown tick of the dog, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. (Atkins, 2014). In Lima, according to a study, it has been found that the species of tick with the highest incidence is Rhipicephalus sanguineus (81%) (Ferrel, 2012).
The disease cycle begins when a tick ingests blood from an animal infected with Babesia sp. Within the tick, the replication occurs and when the tick feeds herself from another canine the subsequent infection will occur. When inoculated in the new host, this protozoon will invade and reproduce in the red blood cells producing its subsequent lysis. The incubation period lasts approximately 10 to 21 days after the bite of the tick. (Smith, 1978). As a result of hemolysis, the hematocrit decreases until it reaches anemia, and it can reach also the bone marrow where it can affect other cells (Noriega, 2012). The infection in dogs can occur in any sex, age or breed (Smith, 1978, Jimenez 2002).
The clinical disease is characterized by fever, anorexia, depression, paleness, splenomegaly and an elevated pulse (Kujman, 2005). The coinfection of Babesia sp and other tick-borne pathogens, such as Ehrlichia sp and Anaplasma sp, has been documented. (Raunternbach, 2018).
In Latin America, which is characterized by a tropical weather, there are few studies that report the presence of canine babesiosis (Garcia et al, 2006, Restrepo, 2010). In Peru we have similar weather conditions as other endemic countries of this disease, therefore, it is also possible to identify these cases.
The diagnosis of babesiosis is based mainly on the use of direct methods. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR), has high sensitivity and specificity but has a limiting cost (Skotarczak, 2008) the disease has been detected molecularly in the country (Madrid, 2015). One of the most economical direct methods is the visualization of Babesia sp (merozoites) organisms in a blood smear under the microscope (Andoni et al, 2012)
Canine babesiosis in Peru has become more important in recent years (Salas, 2012, Córdova, 2018). In a clinical veterinary laboratory the presence of this hemoparasites has been detected in the review of blood smears in addition to other hematological alterations. Because the increase of vector-borne diseases cases is an important problematic (Wesolowski et al, 2014, Boston Public Health Commission, 2015;), it becomes necessary to describe the cases in spatial analysis and warn the geographical risk including the main hematological alterations for canine patients.
OBJECTIVE
Spatial analysis of the babesia sp. cases detected in a Clinical Veterinary Laboratory in 2015 and 2016. Graphs of number of cases per district, distribution of cases in districts of Lima Metropolitana and Callao, heat map, distribution by sex and age group, coinfections, hematological alterations, area of influence, and determine the park with the highest risk will be generated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
We used the data from the Vet Support Clinical Veterinary Analysis Laboratory, located in Lima - Peru, district of Los Olivos. Here, blood samples from different veterinarian practices in Lima Metropolitana, mainly Lima Norte, are analyzed. All complete blood counts of canines with canine babesiosis in 2015 and 2016 were selected.
For each case, the variables of age, breed, sex, veterinary practice district, hematological values and coinfections were taken. It was not possible to obtain data from the homes where the cases of canine patients came from. For the purpose of analysis, a random simulation of the spatial locations was carried out.
For spatial analysis, the freeware software QGIS version 2.18.25 was used, in which the districts, roads and parks were loaded. Vector points were generated from veterinarian practices locations and the and babesiosis cases.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
A total of 190 cases of Babesia sp. where found. The cases mainly came from districts located in Lima Norte, Ventanilla and one district of Lima Sur. It should be mentioned that the cases of the Ventanilla District only came from a single Veterinary due to an exclusive contract with the authorities of that district.
The main contribution of cases is given by the district of Ventanilla followed by the northern area of Los Olivos and the central area of Comas. A better distribution of cases would occur in Los Olivos because there is a bigger number of veterinary practices that send samples whereas in Ventanilla the samples just come from one veterinary practice.
The sex variable shows an apparent homogeneity of distribution, with a predominance of male dogs (n = 114, 60%) versus female dogs (n = 76, 40%). The authors haven’t reported an association with sex, so the findings could be due to cultural characteristics of the area (predilection of people for owning male dogs). Dogs under 2 years were the most affected (n = 158, 79%). This could suggest that younger dogs are more exposed to the disease, maybe because they are more exposed to public places or parks, places where they can be infected by ticks. Another factor to consider could be the poor development of immune system in younger patients (Di Cicco, 2012).
Figure 6 shows the veterinary practices in Los Olivos district who work with “Vet Support". Figure 7 shows the veterinary practices that provided the cases of Babesia and the spatial location of the cases. It can be observed that although there is a homogeneity in the distribution of veterinarians in the district of Los Olivos, there are more cases of veterinary practices with Babesia in the northern zone of the district. This finding is anecdotal and it would be necessary to investigate which factors favor the greater presentation of these cases.
Figure 8 shows the cases of Babesia and those patients who had coinfections. The main disease was ehrlichiosis. This may be due to the fact that the Rhipicephalus sanguineus is a common vector to both diseases, and that ehrlichiosis has quite a high frequency in Lima Norte (Cusicanqui, 2018). Only one patient with coinfection of Distemper and Erliquia was observed.
Figure 9 and 10 show the numerical alterations in the red blood cells and platelet series respectively. The main alteration in the red blood cells series was anemia with 78.7% (37/47), the predominant being a mild anemia 42% (20/47). Regarding the platelets, it was obtained that the plaquetopenia was the main alteration with 91.4% (43/47), severe plaquetopenias have highest proportion 36% (17/47). These findings have been reported (Fabisiak, 2009), however it is worth noting that there are few studies that define the severity, and this can subsequently influence the therapeutic medical management.
In figure 11, a 200 meters zone of influence is determined for each detected case. And in figure 12 the parks at risk are placed in red according to the zone of influence area in figure 11. This was not developed with the intention of know where the case came from, but rather to show the impact of a sick patient. Because there is a likelihood of tick-infestation of one dog infected with babesia, the risk of this dog to drop an infected tick in a park previous days is a possibility. Therefore the infected tick may be a source of infection for other dogs. Figure 12 shows the parks of Los Olivos district considered as a risk area for Babesia infection. This is important if we consider the high number of dogs Lima Norte (Diaz, 2017).
Figure 13 shows “Parque la Huaca". This park has the most number of nearby babesia cases. Two hypotheses can be generated, the first is this park contains infected ticks with Babesia sp, therefore dogs could acquire the disease. The second one is that a dog in subclinical phase could have access to this park, also having the possibility to drop an infected tick and turn this park into a risk zone.
Acknowledgements
I gratefully acknowledge to my work team in Vet Support, for their contribution in the hard work of sample analysis, especially Trilce Velasquez, DVM. To Guillermo Córdova for his help in data tabulation and to my mentors Manuel Amarista, for teaching me the great field of geo spatial analysis and Nestor Falcon for his contribution in my knowledge and teaching me abilities in my Public Health Master
References
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Keywords:
Peru,
Babesia,
dog,
Geospatial analyses,
Complete blood cell (CBC) count
Conference:
GeoVet 2019. Novel spatio-temporal approaches in the era of Big Data, Davis, United States, 8 Oct - 10 Oct, 2019.
Presentation Type:
Poster-no session
Topic:
Spatio-temporal surveillance and modeling approaches
Citation:
Zúñiga Fulcaní
RJ
(2019). Spatial analysis for Canine babesiosis cases reportSpatial analysis for Canine babesiosis cases reported in a Clinical Veterinary Laboratory located in Lima – Peru in 2015 - 2016ed in a Clinical Veterinary Laboratory located in Lima – Peru in 2015 - 2016.
Front. Vet. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
GeoVet 2019. Novel spatio-temporal approaches in the era of Big Data.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fvets.2019.05.00106
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Received:
02 Jun 2019;
Published Online:
27 Sep 2019.
*
Correspondence:
DVM. Renato J Zúñiga Fulcaní, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru, renato.zuniga.f@upch.pe