Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Vector-borne infections found in stray dogs in Northeastern Turkey
By Guven, Esin et al.·Published in Vector borne and zoonotic diseases (Larchmont, N.Y.)·2017·1 Department of Parasitology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Vector-Borne Pathogens in Stray Dogs in Northeastern Turkey.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of stray dogs in Northeastern Turkey were tested for various diseases spread by parasites, and nearly half of them were found to be infected. Out of 133 dogs, 65 tested positive for at least one of the pathogens, including Hepatozoon and Ehrlichia, which can cause serious health issues. The study revealed that these infections were present regardless of the dogs' age or sex. This highlights the importance of monitoring stray dogs for these diseases, as they can pose risks to both animal and human health.
People also search for: stray dog diseases · canine vector-borne diseases · Hepatozoon in dogs · Ehrlichia canis symptoms · dog parasite testing
Abstract
This experiment was carried out to attain prevalence and molecular characterization of pathogens causing canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) including babesiosis, hepatozoonosis, leishmaniasis, filariosis (Dirofilaria immitis, Dirofilaria repens, and Acanthocheilonema reconditum), ehrlichiosis (Ehrlichia canis), and anaplasmosis (Anaplasma platys) in stray dogs. The study material consisted of 133 asymptomatic female (n = 96) and male (n = 37) stray dogs (≤1 year old, n = 16 and 1-6 years old, n = 117) housed in the Animal Care and Rehabilitation Center, Erzurum, Northeastern Turkey. Conventional and nested PCR were performed on blood samples to detect Babesia spp., Leishmania spp., Hepatozoon spp., D. immitis, D. repens, A. reconditum, E. canis, and A. platys. Sex and age association with the pathogen prevalence was determined using Xstatistics. The positivity rate for at least one CVBD pathogen was 48.9% (65/133). DNA of B. canis, Hepatozoon spp., H. canis, D. immitis, and E. canis were detected in 5.3% (7/133), 27.1% (36/133), 5.3% (7/133), 1.5% (2/133), and 9.8% (13/133) of the dogs, respectively. Leishmania spp., D. repens, A. reconditum, and A. platys DNA were not detected. Mixed pathogens were determined in seven (10.8%) of the infected dogs, with predominant involvement of Hepatozoon spp. or H. canis. The pathogen prevalence did not vary by sex or age. Nucleotide blast analysis of Erzurum isolates showed 99.8-100% identities with the corresponding reference isolates. This study indicates presence of five CVB pathogens, including the first report of E. canis, in stray dogs in Erzurum, Turkey.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28632488/