Prevalence of hemoplasmosis in sheep in Mosul city, Iraq
2025
Sufyan S. Al-Shamo | Salam A. Esmaeel
Hemoplasmosis is a worldwide disease that infects sheep. It is induced by hemotropic mycoplasma, a widespread zoonotic disease that can result in mild to severe destruction of erythrocytes, jaundice, and inadequate mass growth in mammals. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of conventional polymerase chain (c-PCR) in comparison to microscopic examination (ME) of blood smears stained with the RAL 555 rapid stain kit and tick samples from areas located in Mosul City, Iraq, for estimating the distribution of ovine hemoplasma (OH) in sheep. In the period between July 2024 and January 2025, three hundred sheep were selected from different areas of Mosul to have their blood samples taken. The total number of cases of OH was 79.6% (239 of 300) on microscopic examination and 80.3% (241 of 300) using c-PCR. The infestation rate of hard ticks on sheep was 66.6%, and two species of hard ticks, Rhipicephalus turanicus and Rh. sanguineus, were microscopically identified and classified, with Rhipicephalus turanicus being significantly more common. The concordance between the blood smear examination by microscopy and the c-PCR methodology is nearly flawless, as indicated by a Kappa value of 0.979. The c-PCR approach demonstrates great sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy at 99.1%, 100%, and 96.3%, respectively, in comparison to the ME method. It was concluded from this study that sheep hemoplasmosis is prevalent in sheep in Mosul, Iraq, diagnosed in blood and ticks parasitizing sheep, and that conventional PCR and microscopy are more effective methods for detecting sheep infected with hemoplasmosis.
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