Employment of the 18s rRNA screening PCR technique in the detection of Equine Piroplasmosis, in horses of sports and military operations, of the Brazilian Army

ABSTRACT The present work had the objective of detecting the occurrence of Equine Piroplasmosis in horses housed in the 3rd Guards Cavalry Regiment (GCR) - Brazilian Army (BA) ˗ Porto Alegre, RS-Brazil, as well as to demonstrate the proactivity of PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) technique, aiming at the judicious use of the resources involved in the training and employment of Equines in the Brazilian Army. Fifty horses of the 3rd GCR - Porto Alegre ˗ RS, which are employed for Sport, Military Ceremonial, Law and Order Guarantee Operations (LOGO), were evaluated by means of the 18s r RNA screening with PCR technique, thirty eight horses with Babesia Caballi and Theileria Equi were detected, which corresponds to an incidence of 76% of the horses effective analyzed at the time. In this way, it can be verified that the Military activity have its "performance and effectiveness" factors threatened in case the health of the principal of his means employed, that is the horse, is compromised. The PCR technique then offers a reliable and feasible tool for the detection of Equine Piroplasmosis in BA horses.

摘要
本研究旨在检测巴西陆军（Brazilian Army, BA）第三近卫骑兵团（3rd Guards Cavalry Regiment, GCR）——位于巴西南里奥格兰德州阿雷格里港——饲养马匹的马梨形虫病（Equine Piroplasmosis）感染情况，同时验证聚合酶链式反应（Polymerase Chain Reaction, PCR）技术的前瞻性应用价值，以期合理调配巴西陆军战马训练与使用相关的各类资源。
本次研究共纳入该骑兵团的50匹战马，这些马匹用于体育训练、军事礼仪、执法与维稳保障行动（Law and Order Guarantee Operations, LOGO），研究采用18S核糖体RNA（18s rRNA）联合PCR技术开展筛查。最终检出马巴贝虫（Babesia caballi）与马泰勒虫（Theileria Equi）阳性马匹共38匹，占本次有效检测马匹总数的76%。
由此可见，若作为陆军核心勤务与作战装备的战马健康受损，军事行动的“执行效能与作战能力”将受到严重威胁。综上，PCR技术可为巴西陆军战马的马梨形虫病检测提供可靠且实用的技术工具。