First Report of Trypanosoma vivax (Duttonella), Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina DNA in Cattle from the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, and Its Relationship with Anaplasma marginale

Bovine trypanosomoses, caused by , is a disease present in African and South American countries. This haemoflagellate protozoan parasite, as well as and spp., are microorganisms that have a blood tropism, mainly causing fever and anaemia, which reduces the productive capacity of dairy or meat farms. This study aimed to detect and other blood parasites in bovine herds in the Galapagos Islands. A total of 170 blood samples from bovines in 19 farms on Santa Cruz Island (the most populated) were collected and analyzed using different PCR techniques: -PCR and -PCR to detect , -PCR to detect , -PCR to detect , -PCR to detect spp., -PCR to detect , -PCR to detect , and -PCR to detect . The prevalence of , , , and was estimated as 14.7%, 11.2%, 14.7%, and 67.1%, respectively. In this study, the presence of four haemotropic agents was evidenced in 26.3% (5/19) of the farms. Coinfected cattle ( , and ) had significantly higher body temperatures compared to others (two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum test; -value = 0.047). The molecular techniques used in this study demonstrated the presence of and in cattle from Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos for the first time. The study also investigates the relationship between and spp., making a significant contribution to the field of veterinary medicine.