First molecular evidence of Hepatozoon canis infection in red foxes and golden jackals from Hungary

Abstract

BackgroundRecently, Hepatozoon canis infection has been detected among shepherd, hunting and stray dogs in the southern part of Hungary, which is considered to be free of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato and close to the border with Croatia. The aim of this study was to acquire information on the possibility that red foxes and/or golden jackals could play a role in the appearance and spread of H. canis in Hungary.MethodsA conventional PCR was used to amplify a 666 bp long fragment of the Hepatozoon 18S rRNA gene from blood samples collected from 334 foxes shot in 231 locations in 16 counties and 15 golden jackals shot in 9 locations in two southwestern counties close to Croatia. A second PCR assay was performed in some of the samples positive by the first PCR to amplify a larger segment (approximately 1500 bp) of the 18S rRNA gene of Hepatozoon spp. for further phylogenetic analysis.ResultsHepatozoon infection was detected in canids shot in 30 locations and 9 counties. Altogether 26 foxes (8.0%, 95% CI: 5-11%) and 9 jackals (60%, 95% CI: 33-81%) were PCR positive. Hepatozoon canis sequences were obtained from 12 foxes and 7 jackals. DNA sequences from 16 animals were 99-100% similar to H. canis from Croatian foxes or dogs while two of the sequences were 99% similar to an Italian fox. Half (13/26) of the infected red foxes and all golden jackals were shot in the two southwestern counties.ConclusionsThis is the first report on molecular evidence of H. canis in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and golden jackals (Canis aureus) from Hungary, which is considered free from the tick vector of H. canis, R. sanguineus. Although no R. sanguineus sensu lato had been found on infected or non-infected wild canids, the detection of authochnous canine hepatozoonosis in Hungary might imply that the range of R. sanguineus sensu lato has reached this country.

Fox on the run ¿ molecular surveillance of fox blood and tissue for the occurrence of tick-borne pathogens in Austria

“…To date H. canis is not found endemically in dogs in these areas, nor is R. sanguineus known to occur autochthonously [12,19,21,23], although H. canis has already been found in dogs in areas lacking the main vector tick in Germany [13,20] and Hungary [12,22]. ITS-R: TCG GGA TGG GAT CGT GTG…”

First autochthonous case of clinical Hepatozoon felis infection in a domestic cat in Central Europe

“…H. felis has been the most frequently diagnosed species in cases of feline hepatozoonosis in different countries around the world [1,[9][10][11][12][13][14]. Interestingly, while some Hepatozoon species seem to be hostspecific, H. canis, the worldwide distributed Hepatozoon species infecting domestic dogs, is also able to infect cats [3,7,15,16] and several species of wild carnivores [17][18][19][20][21][22], which may represent an infection reservoir for domestic animals.…”

Autochthonous Babesia canis, Hepatozoon canis and imported Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs in the Czech Republic

“…The most commonly discussed reasons include the changing ecology of ticks (Medlock et al 2013;Pfaffle et al 2013;Foldvari et al 2016;Rubel et al 2016) and international travel or transport of infected animals (Hamel et al 2011). Both of these situations apply also for the Czech Republic (Kucera 1992;Svobodova and Svobodova 2004;Materna et al 2008).…”

“…The study was conducted as part of EurNegVec COST Action TD1303. doi: 10.17221/152/2016-VETMED bution throughout Europe in areas with mild and wet climates Foldvari et al 2016;Rubel et al 2016). In Mediterranean areas, two further species of Babesia, namely B. vogeli and B. gibsoni, are found (Cardoso et al 2008;Solano-Galego et al 2008;Beck et al 2009;Trotta et al 2009;Gabrielli et al 2015;Rene-Martellet et al 2015).…”

“…Reports of H. canis in domestic dogs from localities outside the Rhipicephalus range are rare (Hamel et al 2011;Maguire et al 2011;Hornok et al 2013), commonly attributable to travel. Conversely, the parasite is commonly reported in red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and Eurasian golden jackals (Canis aureus) also in Rhipicephalus-free geographic areas (Majlathova et al 2007;Karbowiak et al 2010;Duscher et al 2013;Duscher et al 2014;Farkas et al 2014;Mitkova et al 2014;Najm et al 2014). In the CR, H. canis was reported for the first time in red foxes and in hunting dogs only recently (Mitkova et al 2016), indicating the possibility of occasional transmission of the parasite between dogs and foxes in areas with an apparent absence of R. sanguineus s.l.…”