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.

SUMMARYA mathematical model that describes the transmission dynamics of Theileria annulata is proposed that consists of 2 host components: the Hyalomma tick population and a compartmental model of T. annulata infection in the cattle population. The model was parameterized using data describing tick infestation and the infection status of cattle in Turkey from 2006 to 2008. The tick attachment rates are highly seasonal and because of the temporal separation of infectious and susceptible ticks virtually all ticks are infected by carrier cattle, so that annual peaks of disease in cattle do not impact on infection in the Hyalomma tick population. The impact of intervention measures that target the tick population both on the host and in the environment and their impact on the transmission of T. annulata were investigated. Interventions that have a limited ‘one-off’ impact and interventions that have a more permanent impact were both considered. The results from the model show the importance of targeting ticks during the period when they have left their first host as nymphs but have yet to feed on their second host.