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Graphical abstractHighlights► Novel multiplex PCR for Theileria annulata, Babesia bovis and Anaplasma marginale. ► Specific and sensitive tool which can be applied to epidemiological studies. ► Simple and efficient assay which has been validated using field samples.

BackgroundTick-borne haemoparasitic diseases (TBHDs), caused by Theileria, Babesia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia, are common in regions of the world where the distributions of host, pathogen and vector overlap. Many of these diseases threaten livestock production and some also represent a concern to human public health. The primary aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of the above-mentioned pathogens in a large number of blood samples (n = 1979) collected from sheep (n = 1727) and goats (n = 252) in Turkey. A secondary aim was to assess the diagnostic sensitivity of a number of species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and the reverse line blotting (RLB) assay. DNA samples were screened using species-specific PCR for the presence of Theileria ovis, Theileria sp. MK, T. lestoquardi, T. uilenbergi, T. luwenshuni, Babesia ovis, Anaplasma ovis and A. phagocytophilum while RLB was undertaken to test for the presence of all known Theileria, Babesia, Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species. The diagnostic sensitivity of these two approaches was then compared in terms of their ability to detect single species and mixed infections.ResultsOverall, 84 and 74.43% of the small ruminants sampled were identified as hosting one or more pathogen(s) by species-specific PCR and RLB respectively. The presence of Theileria sp. OT1, T. luwenshuni and T. uilenbergi in Turkey was revealed for the first time while the presence of Babesia motasi, B. crassa and T. separata in Turkish small ruminants was confirmed using molecular methods. A high prevalence of mixed infection was evident, with PCR and RLB approaches indicating that 52.24 and 35.42% of animals were co-infected with multiple species, respectively. More than 80% of the mixed infections contained T. ovis and/or A. ovis. The RLB approach was found to be capable of detecting mixed infections with species such as Theileria sp. OT1, Theileria sp. OT3, T. separata, B. crassa and Babesia spp.ConclusionThe results indicated that pathogens causing TBHDs are highly prevalent in sheep and goats in Turkey. The diagnostic sensitivity of species-specific single PCR was generally higher than that of RLB. However, the latter approach was still capable of identifying a high proportion of individuals containing mixed-species infections. The use of species-specific single PCR is recommended to accurately estimate pathogen prevalence and to identify co-infected hosts.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2151-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Objective. The purposes of this study were to determine whether secnidazole administered at a single dose of 10 mg/kg, orally, lessens or eliminates Giardia cyst shedding, and to validate the benefit of secnidazole treatment on clinical signs and faecal consistency in lambs naturally infected with Giardia duodenalis. Materials and methods. To this extent weaned 12 weeks of age lambs were selected and randomly assigned into two groups based on placebo (group C, n=7 untreated control group) or treatment (group S, n=10 lambs treated with a single dose of secnidazole at 10 mg/kg). Results. On days 0 and 10, before and after treatment, respectively, reduction in cyst excretion was determined. The faecal consistency and general health were recorded at each sampling day. Conclusions. During the study there was a high (99.98%) reduction in cyst excretion in the secnidazol treatment group compared to the positive control group on day 10, resulting in a significant (p<0.001) reduction, making secnidazole highly effective treatment option.Key words: Clinics, evaluation, lamb, secnidazol (Source: CAB). RESUMENObjetivo. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar si la administración oral de una dosis única de secnidazol de 10mh/kg reduce o elimina la presencia de quistes de Giardia y validar el beneficio del tratamiento con secnidazol en los signos clínicos y la consistencia fecal de corderos infectados naturalmente con Giardia duodenalis. Materiales y métodos. Se seleccionaron corderos destetados de 12 semanas de edad que fueron asignados al azar a dos grupos con base a placebo (grupo C, n=7, grupo de control sin tratar) o tratamiento (grupo S, n=10 corderos con tratamiento de dosis única de secnidazol de 10 mg/kg). Resultados. En los días 0 y 10, antes y después del tratamiento, respectivamente, se determinó una merma en la excreción de quistes. La consistencia de la materia fecal y el estado general de salud fue registrado en cada muestreo diario. Conclusiones. Durante el estudio hubo una alta reducción en la excreción de quistes (99.98%) en el grupo tratado con secnidazol comparado con el grupo control positivo en el día 10, resultando en una disminución significativa (p<0.001), haciendo del tratamiento con secnizadol una opción altamente efectiva.