Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vector-borne infections found in dogs from Haiti blood tests
By Starkey, Lindsay A et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2016·Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence of vector-borne pathogens in dogs from Haiti.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study of 210 dogs in Haiti found that many were infected with various tick-borne diseases. About 68% of the dogs showed signs of past or current infections, with common pathogens including Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma platys, and Dirofilaria immitis (which causes heartworm). Some dogs had multiple infections at the same time. This highlights the importance of regular veterinary check-ups and preventive measures, like tick control and heartworm prevention, to keep dogs healthy in areas where these diseases are prevalent.
People also search for: dog tick disease symptoms · heartworm prevention for dogs · Ehrlichia treatment in dogs
Abstract
Canine vector-borne pathogens are common on some Caribbean islands, but survey data in Haiti are lacking. To determine the prevalence of selected vector-borne pathogens in dogs from Haiti, we tested blood samples collected from 210 owned dogs, 28 (13.3%) of which were infested with Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks at the time of blood collection. No other tick species were identified on these dogs. A commercially available ELISA identified antibodies to Ehrlichia spp. in 69 (32.9%), antibodies to Anaplasma spp. in 37 (17.6%), and antigen of Dirofilaria immitis in 55 (26.2%); antibodies to Borrelia burgdorferi were not detected in any sample. Molecular assays of whole blood from 207 of the dogs confirmed infection with Ehrlichia canis (15; 7.2%), Anaplasma platys (13; 6.3%), D. immitis (46; 22.2%), Wolbachia spp. (45; 21.7%), Babesia vogeli (16; 7.7%), and Hepatozoon canis (40; 19.3%), but Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Babesia canis, Babesia rossi, Babesia gibsoni, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, or Hepatozoon americanum were not detected. Co-infection with two or more vector-borne pathogens was detected by serology in 42 (20.0%) dogs and by molecular assays in 22 (10.6%) dogs; one dog was co-infected with B. vogeli and E. canis as detected by PCR with D. immitis detected by serology (antigen). Overall, evidence of past or current infection with at least one vector-borne pathogen was identified in 142/210 (67.6%) dogs in this study, underscoring the common nature of these pathogens, some of which are zoonotic, in Haiti.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27270383/