<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Among tick-borne diseases, <italic>Ehrlichia canis</italic> and <italic>Babesia</italic> piroplasm cause important diseases in dogs where the distributions of the pathogen, vector and host overlap. The primary aim of the present study was to detect the prevalence of <italic>Babesia</italic> spp. and <italic>E. canis</italic> using PCR and reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization assay in a total of 379 samples comprising stray and owned dogs and to compare the diagnostic sensitivity of the two tests. Overall, 41.4% of dogs were infected with <italic>B. vogeli</italic> and/or <italic>E. canis</italic> as single (35.4%) and mixed (6.1%) infections. The majority of <italic>Babesia</italic> positive dogs (74.1%) were co-infected with <italic>E. canis</italic>. PCR detected a higher (P= 0.000) number of positivity in some provinces compared to RLB. To the best of our knowledge, these findings provide the first molecular evidence for the existence of <italic>B. vogeli</italic> in the Aegean Region, Turkey. The present study pinpoints the distribution and prevalence of <italic>E. canis</italic> and <italic>B. vogeli</italic> in the Aegean region of Turkey as of 2004 and as such establishes a baseline. This is of pivotal importance for future studies aimed to demonstrate changes in the dynamics of <italic>E. canis</italic> and <italic>B. vogeli</italic> infections in the region.</p></abstract>

Among tick-borne diseases, Ehrlichia canis and Babesia piroplasm cause important diseases in dogs where the distributions of the pathogen, vector and host overlap. The primary aim of the present study was to detect the prevalence of Babesia spp. and E. canis using PCR and reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization assay in a total of 379 samples comprising stray and owned dogs and to compare the diagnostic sensitivity of the two tests. Overall, 41.4% of dogs were infected with B. vogeli and/or E. canis as single (35.4%) and mixed (6.1%) infections. The majority of Babesia positive dogs (74.1%) were co-infected with E. canis. PCR detected a higher (P= 0.000) number of positivity in some provinces compared to RLB. To the best of our knowledge, these findings provide the first molecular evidence for the existence of B. vogeli in the Aegean Region, Turkey. The present study pinpoints the distribution and prevalence of E. canis and B. vogeli in the Aegean region of Turkey as of 2004 and as such establishes a baseline. This is of pivotal importance for future studies aimed to demonstrate changes in the dynamics of E. canis and B. vogeli infections in the region.

A Retrospective Epidemiological Study: The Prevalence of <italic>Ehrlichia canis</italic> and <italic>Babesia vogeli</italic> in Dogs in the Aegean Region of Turkey

Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Parasitology

Aydın Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry

Acta Veterinaria

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

A Retrospective Epidemiological Study: The Prevalence of  and  in Dogs in the Aegean Region of Turkey

Among tick-borne diseases, Ehrlichia canis and Babesia piroplasm cause important diseases in dogs where the distributions of the pathogen, vector and host...

A Retrospective Epidemiological Study: The Prevalence of Ehrlichia canis and Babesia vogeli in Dogs in the Aegean Region of Turkey

Published Online: Jun 22, 2019

Page range: 164 - 176

Received: Dec 21, 2018

Accepted: May 07, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acve-2019-0013

Keywords
Babesia, Ehrlichia,

© 2019 Bilgic Huseyin Bilgin et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

A Retrospective Epidemiological Study: The Prevalence of Ehrlichia canis and Babesia vogeli in Dogs in the Aegean Region of Turkey

Published Online: Jun 22, 2019

Page range: 164 - 176

Received: Dec 21, 2018

Accepted: May 07, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/acve-2019-0013

KeywordsBabesia, Ehrlichia,

© 2019 Bilgic Huseyin Bilgin et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Babesia, Ehrlichia,