Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Detecting Hepatozoon canis infection in dogs in Northwest Iran
By Dalimi, A et al.·Published in Archives of Razi Institute·2017·Department of Parasitology and Entomology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular Detection of Hepatozoon canis in Dogs of Ardabil Province, Northwest of Iran.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs in Ardabil Province, Iran, was tested for a parasite called Hepatozoon canis, which can cause health issues. Out of 104 dogs, 24 were found to be infected, indicating a significant presence of this parasite in the area. The researchers used a specialized test called polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify the parasite's DNA in the dogs' blood. This study is important as it is the first time this method has been used to detect Hepatozoon canis in dogs in Iran, highlighting a potential health concern for local pets.
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Abstract
Hepatozoon species are protozoan parasites that infect some animals such as birds, reptiles, amphibians, and carnivores. Previous studies performed on canine hepatozoonosis in Iran have never used molecular techniques for diagnosis of this disease. The main objective of the present study was to detect Hepatozoon canis in the blood of dogs using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method and sequencing. A total of 104 blood samples were collected from dogs of Meshginshahr County (Ardabil Province), and DNA was extracted from blood samples by dint of DNG-plus Extraction Kit. Then, 18S rRNA gene was amplified by using the conventional PCR methods. PCR products yielded an amplicon of the approximate length of 897 bp for all the positive samples. Twenty-four out of the 104 (23.07%) samples were found to be positive for H. canis. This rate of infection is relatively high among dogs in Ardabil Province. Sequence analysis confirmed the molecular identity of 99% of the samples by comparison with GenBank profiles. This is the first report of molecular detection of H. canis from Iran.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30341941/