Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
First detection of tick infections in dogs from Malta
By Licari, Elaine et al.·Published in Ticks and tick-borne diseases·2017·The Veterinary Clinic' Triq Frangisk Xerri·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: First detection of tick-borne pathogens of dogs from Malta.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that 34% of dogs in Malta had ticks, with farm dogs being more affected than those kept as pets or in sanctuaries. Blood tests showed that many of these dogs were infected with tick-borne pathogens, particularly Hepatozoon canis, which was found in 16 dogs. Other infections included Anaplasma platys and Babesia vogeli. This research highlights the importance of monitoring tick infestations and related diseases in dogs, especially in areas where ticks are prevalent.
People also search for: dog ticks Malta · symptoms of tick-borne disease in dogs · Hepatozoon canis treatment · how to remove ticks from dogs
Abstract
The knowledge about the vector-borne infections in domestic dogs has been increasing worldwide. However no studies have been done on hard tick infestation and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) of dogs present in Malta. Therefore, a total of 99 dogs was selected and inspected between March and July 2013 in 18 urban and 17 rural areas on the islands of Malta and Gozo. All ticks were removed from the dogs and identified. Blood samples were taken and tested for protozoa (Babesia spp. and Hepatozoon spp.) and bacteria (Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., Rickettsia spp.) by conventional PCR. All of the ticks collected from 34 (34.3%; 95% CI: 26-44) dogs belong to the species Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato. Tick infestation on the farm dogs was significantly higher than that of dogs kept outdoors as pets (OR: 15.19, 95% CI: 2.72-118.92, p<0.001) or in a sanctuary (OR: 35.11, 95% CI: 3.20-1986.67, p<0.001). Altogether 22 animals were infected with one or two TBPs, most of them with Hepatozoon canis (16/22; 72.7%). Anaplasma platys and Babesia vogeli were detected in 5 and 4 dogs, respectively. Three dogs had co-infections caused by H. canis and A. platys. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on tick infestation and TBPs of dogs in Malta.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28143697/