Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Coinfections of tick-borne pathogens found in dogs from Poland
By Rymaszewska, Anna & Adamska, Małgorzata·Published in Acta veterinaria Hungarica·2011·University of Szczecin Department of Genetics al. Piastow 40B 71-065 Szczecin Poland. ankas@univ.szczecin.pl·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular evidence of vector-borne pathogens coinfecting dogs from Poland.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs in Poland with suspected tick-borne diseases were tested for multiple infections. Some dogs showed signs of borreliosis (a tick-borne illness), and researchers found DNA from Anaplasma phagocytophilum, another tick-borne pathogen, in 14% of these dogs. Interestingly, a few dogs had both Anaplasma and Borrelia infections at the same time. Healthy dogs also had some evidence of Anaplasma, but no infections were found in dogs diagnosed with babesiosis. This study highlights the possibility of dogs being infected with more than one tick-borne disease at once, which can complicate treatment.
People also search for: dog tick-borne disease symptoms · borreliosis in dogs · Anaplasma treatment for dogs
Abstract
Ticks of the genus Ixodes are vectors for many pathogens, including Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Rickettsia spp., and may also serve as vectors for Bartonella spp. However, the role of ticks in Bartonella transmission requires additional studies. The aim of this study was to investigate whether coinfection with two or more vector-borne pathogens can occur in the following three groups of dogs: I - dogs with suspected borreliosis (N = 92), II - dogs considered healthy (N = 100), and III - dogs with diagnosed babesiosis (N = 50). Polymerase chain reactions were performed to detect DNA of Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp. and Bartonella spp. in the blood of dogs. In dogs of Group I, the DNA of both A. phagocytophilum and Bartonella sp. was detected (14% and 1%, respectively). In eight dogs, coinfection was indicated: A. phagocytophilum or Bartonella sp. with B. burgdorferi s.l. (the presence of antibodies against and/or DNA B. burgdorferi s.l.). In the case of five dogs positive for A. phagocytophilum DNA, no coinfection with B. burgdorferi s.l. was shown. In Group II, the DNA of A. phagocytophilum was detected in four dogs. In Group III, no pathogenic agents possibly transmitted by ticks were confirmed. No DNA of R. helvetica was detected in any of the groups studied.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21665575/