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Animals
Special Issues
Wild and Domestic Animal Hemoparasites
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Wild and Domestic Animal Hemoparasites

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Wildlife".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 2113

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Grzegorz Karbowiak

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Witold Stefanski Institute of Parasitology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
Interests: hemoparasites; small mammals; vectors; vector-borne pathogens

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Blood parasites seriously harm the health of livestock, domestic animals and wildlife. Their study includes many groups of pathogens, including bacteria, rickettsia, protozoa parasites, nematodes and blood-sucking arthropods. The range of investigations is wide, encompassing immunology, epidemiology and genetics, as well as faunistic study. As established, many of the pathogens that cause diseases in animals have zoonotic potential, also affecting humans.

Animal blood parasites have been studied for a long time. It may seem that this is an exhausted topic, but that is not the case. The global changes observed over recent decades are causing changes in their range, changes in the range of hosts and biology, consequently making them new threats to humans and pets.

The aim of this Special Issue is to publish original research papers or reviews concerning many aspects of blood pathogens: the biology, biodiversity, pathogenesis, immunology and epidemiology of veterinary hemoparasites and wild animal hemoparasites, as well the news in the light of global changes.

Research areas include (but are not limited to) the following: occurrence, developmental cycles, the pathogenesis and epidemiology of animal hemoparasites, animal–parasite interactions, the host and environment.

We invite you to share your recent findings in this Special Issue. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Grzegorz Karbowiak
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • hemoparasite
  • vector-borne pathogens
  • biodiversity
  • pathology
  • immunology
  • global changes
  • thematically similar issues

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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13 pages, 1274 KB  
Article
Detection of Babesia spp. and Anaplasma spp. in Wild Boars from Romania
by Ioan Cristian Dreghiciu, Diana Hoffman, Simona Dumitru, Tiana Florea, Mirela Imre, Tatiana Rugea, Vlad Iorgoni, Anamaria Plesko, Sorin Morariu, Ion Oprescu and Marius Stelian Ilie
Animals 2025, 15(17), 2542; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15172542 - 29 Aug 2025
Abstract
While wild boars (Sus scrofa) can act as hosts and reservoirs for various tick-borne pathogens, including Babesia spp. and Anaplasma spp., relevant data from Romania remain scarce. This study aimed to detect these agents in blood samples collected from 321 wild [...] Read more.
While wild boars (Sus scrofa) can act as hosts and reservoirs for various tick-borne pathogens, including Babesia spp. and Anaplasma spp., relevant data from Romania remain scarce. This study aimed to detect these agents in blood samples collected from 321 wild boars across nine Romanian counties between 2021 and 2024. Molecular screening using real-time PCR revealed a prevalence of 6.85% for Babesia spp. and 9.34% for Anaplasma spp. Sequencing confirmed the presence of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in four randomly selected positive samples, and the results for Babesia spp. represent the first detection of these pathogens in Romanian wild boars. These findings indicate that wild boars could contribute to the maintenance of tick-borne pathogens in natural ecosystems, and might represent a source of infection for other animals or even humans. The presented data can serve as a baseline for future comparative studies and may guide targeted control measures to reduce the potential spread of tick-borne pathogens through wild boar populations in Romania. Ongoing molecular monitoring, together with more detailed species identification, will help to clarify the epidemiological relevance of these pathogens and support effective wildlife and public health strategies in Romania. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wild and Domestic Animal Hemoparasites)
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15 pages, 1925 KB  
Systematic Review
Molecular Prevalence of Avian Haemosporidian Parasites in Southeast Asia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
by Kannawee Swangneat, Nikom Srikacha, Nittakone Soulinthone, Surya Paudel, Wilasinee Srisanyong, Christopher James Stott, Tanakamol Mahawan and Pornchai Pornpanom
Animals 2025, 15(5), 636; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15050636 - 21 Feb 2025
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1330
Abstract
In this study, for the first time, a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to understand the prevalence and genetic diversity of haemosporidian parasites—namely, Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon—in avian species in Southeast Asia. Following the PRISMA guidelines, 14,211 studies were retrieved [...] Read more.
In this study, for the first time, a systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to understand the prevalence and genetic diversity of haemosporidian parasites—namely, Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon—in avian species in Southeast Asia. Following the PRISMA guidelines, 14,211 studies were retrieved from PubMed, ScienceDirect and Scopus, which contain data relevant to ‘Plasmodium’ or ‘Haemoproteus’ or ‘Leucocytozoon’ and ‘birds’ or ‘chickens’. Of these, 15 articles reporting the prevalence of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus or Leucocytozoon in Southeast Asia were selected for meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon were analyzed using a meta-analysis of their proportions, implemented in R programming. The publication bias was checked using a funnel plot and Egger’s test. Consequently, the pooled prevalences of Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon in Southeast Asia were found to be 21% (95% CI: 18–25%), 18% (95% CI: 15–22%) and 34% (95% CI: 30–37%), respectively. The prevalence of Plasmodium in domestic poultry (37.94%) was found significantly higher than in wild birds (6.46%). There was substantial heterogeneity among studies related to Plasmodium (χ2 = 171.50, p < 0.0001, I2 = 94.84%), Haemoproteus (χ2 = 52.20, p < 0.0001, I2 = 90.4%) and Leucocytozoon (χ2 = 433.90, p < 0.0001, I2 = 98.80%). Additionally, this review revealed 23 lineages of Plasmodium, 35 lineages of Haemoproteus and 21 lineages of Leucocytozoon reported from both domestic poultry and wild birds in Southeast Asia. In conclusion, this systematic review suggested that the prevalence of avian haemosporidian parasites in Southeast Asia is high. Particularly, domestic poultry has a high prevalence of Plasmodium, suggesting that monitoring of this parasite should be implemented in the poultry production system. Furthermore, several parasites found in wild birds are undescribed species. Further experimental studies using combined microscopic and molecular techniques might reveal the characteristics of overlooked parasites. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wild and Domestic Animal Hemoparasites)
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