Ciência Animal Brasileira (Feb 2017)

HEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND SEROPREVALENCE OF Ehrlichia canis AND Babesia vogeli IN DOGS

  • Juliana Pierangeli Fonseca,
  • Fábio Raphael Pascoti Bruhn Pascoti Bruhn,
  • Manoel Junqueira Maciel Ribeiro,
  • Christian Hirsch,
  • Christiane Maria Barcelos Magalhães Rocha,
  • Elizangela Guedes,
  • Antônio Marcos Guimarães

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 0

Abstract

Read online

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anti-Ehrlichia canis and anti-Babesia vogeli IgG antibodies in dogs and correlate this prevalence with risk factors to evaluate the relation of serological status to hematological findings. Blood samples of dogs attended from September 2011 to March 2012 at the veterinary hospital of the Federal University of Lavras, Brazil, were analyzed using an indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT). Of the total 160 dog serum samples, 23.7% (38 dogs; CI95 17.7% – 30.7%) were seropositive for E. canis, 40.0% (64 dogs; CI95 40.0% – 59.2%) for B. vogeli, and 5.6% (9 dogs) for both hemoparasites. None of the epidemiological variables showed a significant association (P>0.05) with seropositivity to E. canis and B. vogeli. Dogs seropositive for E. canis showed lower values for hematocrit (P0.05) was observed between dogs that were seropositive and seronegative for E. canis or for B. vogeli. Serological results suggest that infection with E. canis and B. vogeli is endemic in the canine population in question, with a prevalence of the subclinical phase (asymptomatic) in dogs that are seropositive for ehrlichiosis or babesiosis. Keywords: babesiosis; canine; ehrlichiosis; IFAT; laboratory findings.

Keywords