Prevalence and molecular characterization of tick-borne pathogens in dogs in northeast anatolia region, türkiye

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the prevalence and molecular characterization of tick-borne pathogens (TBP) (Babesia spp., Theileria spp., and Hepatozoon spp.) in asymptomatic dogs in the northeast Anatolia region of Türkiye. Blood samples of 400 clinically healthy dogs were analyzed using PCR and RLB techniques. TBP prevalence and the relationship between habitat, gender, age, and breed of dogs were determined by using the R package prevalence (version 0.2.0.) and the Pearson chi-square statistics. Babesia spp., Theileria spp., Hepatozoon spp. DNAs were detected in 13% (52/400) of the dogs by PCR, while the prevalence of TBPs was 24.25% (CI: 20.24-28.62) by subsecuantial RLB assay. Sequence analysis of two Theileria ovis, two Babesia canis and two Hepatozoon canis isolates showed 100% identity with the corresponding reference isolates. In this study, Theileria ovis positivity was detected for the first time in dogs in the northeast Anatolia region of Türkiye.

Keywords

• dog
• molecular characterization
• prevalence
• tick-borne pathogens