TY - GEN

T1 - Detection of Stephanofilaria (Nematoda: Filariidae) in Buffalo Fly Lesions

T2 - Proceedings

AU - Naseem, Muhammad Noman

AU - Tabor, Ala

AU - Raza, Ali

AU - Constantinoiu, Constantin

AU - Morgan, Jess

AU - James, Peter

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Haematobia irritans exigua, commonly known as buffalo fly (BF), causes economic losses of about AUD $100 million per annum to the Australian cattle industry in terms of decreased production and costs of control. Lesions associated with BF infestation range from raised, dry, alopecic, hyperkeratotic or scab encrusted to severe hemorrhagic areas of ulceration which represent a major animal welfare concern. BF transmits a filarial nematode, Stephanofilaria sp., which has been speculatively associated with BF lesion development. The existing literature indicates that the sensitivity of currently used diagnostic techniques to detect Stephanofilaria in skin lesions is low and that there is currently no sequence for Stephanofilaria available on GenBank. Our objective is to develop a PCR method to detect Stephanofilaria in BF lesions. Skin biopsies were collected from 10 freshly slaughtered cattle hides having obvious BF eye lesions. Samples were collected from the center and the edge of the BF lesion as well as from adjacent normal tissue. Each skin punch was cut into 5-6 slices and immersed in normal saline before incubation overnight at 22°C. Eight nematodes were recovered from the saline by microscopic examination and preserved in ethanol. Nematode DNA will be extracted using conventional extraction methods. Specific primers will be used to amplify the ITS regions of rDNA and coxI region of the mtDNA and the amplified DNA will be sequenced. Primers will be designed from these regions to detect the presence of Stephanofilaria and used in PCR studies to clarify the etiology and epidemiology of BF lesions.

AB - Haematobia irritans exigua, commonly known as buffalo fly (BF), causes economic losses of about AUD $100 million per annum to the Australian cattle industry in terms of decreased production and costs of control. Lesions associated with BF infestation range from raised, dry, alopecic, hyperkeratotic or scab encrusted to severe hemorrhagic areas of ulceration which represent a major animal welfare concern. BF transmits a filarial nematode, Stephanofilaria sp., which has been speculatively associated with BF lesion development. The existing literature indicates that the sensitivity of currently used diagnostic techniques to detect Stephanofilaria in skin lesions is low and that there is currently no sequence for Stephanofilaria available on GenBank. Our objective is to develop a PCR method to detect Stephanofilaria in BF lesions. Skin biopsies were collected from 10 freshly slaughtered cattle hides having obvious BF eye lesions. Samples were collected from the center and the edge of the BF lesion as well as from adjacent normal tissue. Each skin punch was cut into 5-6 slices and immersed in normal saline before incubation overnight at 22°C. Eight nematodes were recovered from the saline by microscopic examination and preserved in ethanol. Nematode DNA will be extracted using conventional extraction methods. Specific primers will be used to amplify the ITS regions of rDNA and coxI region of the mtDNA and the amplified DNA will be sequenced. Primers will be designed from these regions to detect the presence of Stephanofilaria and used in PCR studies to clarify the etiology and epidemiology of BF lesions.

KW - Stephanofilaria

KW - buffalo fly lesion

KW - etiology

KW - epidemiology

KW - skin biopsies

U2 - 10.3390/proceedings2019036108

DO - 10.3390/proceedings2019036108

M3 - Other contribution

SN - 2504-3900

ER -