Supplemental Data for: Molecular identification of vector-borne organisms in Ehrlichia seropositive Nicaraguan horses and first report of Rickettsia felis infection in the horse"

Certain vector-borne organisms serve as etiological agents of equine disease, affecting not only the health of horses but also the economic wellbeing of their owners. Horses in Mérida, Nicaragua experience high exposure to ticks and other arthropod vectors. After previously identifying a new Ehrlichia species in horses from Mérida, our study aimed to determine the infection frequency and screen for a wide range of vector-borne organisms from 93 tick-exposed, Ehrlichia seropositive horses in this region. PCR assays (genus and species-specific) were performed on DNA extracted from equine whole blood samples to identify infection by vector-borne organisms within the following genera: Anaplasma, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia, Leishmania, Mycoplasma, Neorickettsia, Rickettsia and Theileria.

某些虫媒生物可作为马类疾病的病原体，不仅威胁马匹健康，还会对其饲主的经济福祉造成负面影响。尼加拉瓜梅里达地区的马匹长期处于蜱虫及其他节肢动物媒介（arthropod vector）的高暴露环境中。此前本研究团队已在该地区的马匹体内发现一株新型埃立克体（Ehrlichia），本次研究旨在明确该区域93份经蜱虫暴露且埃立克体血清学阳性的马匹的感染频率，并对多种虫媒生物开展广谱筛查。本研究针对提取自马全血样本的DNA，开展属特异性及种特异性聚合酶链式反应（PCR）检测，以识别以下各属虫媒生物的感染情况：无形体属（Anaplasma）、巴贝斯虫属（Babesia）、巴尔通体属（Bartonella）、埃立克体属（Ehrlichia）、利什曼原虫属（Leishmania）、支原体属（Mycoplasma）、新立克次体属（Neorickettsia）、立克次体属（Rickettsia）以及泰勒虫属（Theileria）。