Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Spotted fever group Rickettsia found in pet dogs in Luanda Angola
By Barradas, Patrícia F et al.·Published in Parasites & vectors·2017·Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar (ICBAS)·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serological and molecular detection of spotted fever group Rickettsia in a group of pet dogs from Luanda, Angola.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of pet dogs in Luanda, Angola, were tested for exposure to a tick-borne infection called Rickettsia, which can affect both dogs and humans. Out of 103 dogs, 62 had ticks, but only six showed signs of exposure to Rickettsia through blood tests, indicating a low infection rate. Interestingly, two dogs tested positive for the bacteria's DNA despite not showing antibodies, suggesting they might have been infected without a strong immune response. Overall, while many dogs had ticks, the low prevalence of Rickettsia indicates that the risk of infection in this area may be minimal.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Infections with tick-borne rickettsiae can cause diseases well known in humans but still not so well characterized in dogs. Susceptibility to infection depends on the virulence of Rickettsia spp. and only a few of them have been described to cause disease in dogs. The aim of this study was to investigate the exposure to Rickettsia spp. among a group of pet dogs from Luanda, Angola. RESULTS: Out of 103 dogs included in the study, 62 (60.2%) were infested with ticks. Plasma specimens tested for serology by an immunofluorescence assay (IFA) revealed that six (5.8%) dogs had detectable immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies to spotted fever group Rickettsia (SFGR), with endpoint titers of 64 for two dogs, 128 for three dogs and 1024 for one dog. From the seropositive group of dogs, five (83%) of them were males, with their age ranging from 1 to 8 years old. Among the seropositive dogs, four (66.7%) were parasitized with ticks and no breed (or cross) was found to be associated with specific antibodies. Rickettsia spp. DNA was detected by nested-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in two (1.9%) dogs that were found to be seronegative. CONCLUSIONS: Seroprevalence and molecular detection of Rickettsia spp. infection in this group of pet dogs from Luanda is low compared with other studies performed in the same type of hosts in other areas. Although many dogs were parasitized with ticks, a low prevalence of Rickettsia spp. could be related with the hypothesis of a low rickettsial prevalence in the infesting ticks. This study provides evidence that dogs in Luanda are exposed to Rickettsia spp., but further studies are needed to better characterize the bacterial infections in dogs and in their ectoparasites.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28569177/