Study on coinfecting vector-borne pathogens in dogs and ticks in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Abstract

Since dogs presenting several vector borne diseases can show none or nonspecific clinical signs depending on the phase of infection, the assessment of the particular agents involved is mandatory. The present study aimed to investigate the presence of Babesia spp., Ehrlichia spp., Anaplasma spp., Hepatozoon spp. ResumoCães que apresentam diversas doenças transmitidas por vetores podem mostrar nenhum ou alguns sinais clínicos inespecíficos. Dependendo da fase da infecção, a confirmação dos agentes envolvidos é necessária. O presente estudo teve como objetivo detectar a presença de Babesia spp., Ehrlichia spp., Anaplasma spp., Hepatozoon spp. e Leishmania spp. em amostras de sangue e carrapatos, coletados em dois cães do Rio Grande do Norte. Esses animais apresentavam sinais clínicos sugestivos de doenças transmitidas por carrapatos, quando foram usadas técnicas moleculares. DNA de E. canis, H. canis e L. infantum foram detectados em amostras de sangue e carrapatos R. sanguineus coletados dos cães. Entre todas as amostras analisadas, duas mostraram a presença de infecções múltiplas por E. canis, H. canis e L. infantum chagasi. Destaca-se a necessidade de um diagnóstico molecular diferencial em cães com sinais clínicos inespecíficos.

Detection of Leishmania (V) guyanensis in Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Acari: Ixodidae) collected from Pecari tajacu

“…En Perú, R. microplus se ha reportado como un parásito del ganado y, en Brasil, R. sanguineus se considera un parásito de perros, así como potencial vector de L. infantum (19)(20)(21) y L. braziliensis (20). Debe señalarse, además, que en estudios anteriores en Italia y Brasil se encontraron porcentajes más Figura 3.…”

Molecular identification of Hepatozoon canis in dogs from Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

“…In Brazil, although species genetically related to H. americanum have been described parasitizing wild canids (CRIADO-FORNELIO et al, 2006;ANDRÉ et al, 2010), only H. canis has been detected in domestic dogs (PALUDO et al, 2005;MUNDIM et al, 2008;RAMOS et al, 2010;GONÇALVES et al, 2014).…”

Hepatozoon canis and Leishmania spp. coinfection in dogs diagnosed with visceral leishmaniasis

“…We observed 100% identicalness between our sequences with H. canis from Croatia and other regions of Brazil, suggesting either a geographic expansion of this infection or a recent increase in the efficiency in detecting these parasites. Recently, canine hepatozoonosis has been described in several Brazilian regions (RUBINI et al, 2008;MIRANDA et al, 2014;GONÇALVES et al, 2014;RAMOS et al, 2015;DEMONER et al, 2016). Many of these areas are also endemic for CVL and co-infection was indeed described in dogs from Rio Grande do Norte, but only through molecular analysis (GONÇALVES et al, 2014).…”

“…Molecular characterization indicated that Brazilian H. canis was closely related to isolates from Japan, presented 99% nucleotide identity with isolates from Israel and was found to be distantly related to H. americanum (RUBINI et al, 2005). In the following years, canine hepatozoonosis has also been described in several Brazilian regions (RUBINI et al, 2008;MIRANDA et al, 2014;GONÇALVES et al, 2014;RAMOS et al, 2015;DEMONER et al, 2016). Many of these areas are also endemic for CVL, and co-infection has already been described in dogs from Rio Grande do Norte based only on molecular analyses (GONÇALVES et al, 2014).…”

“…In the following years, canine hepatozoonosis has also been described in several Brazilian regions (RUBINI et al, 2008;MIRANDA et al, 2014;GONÇALVES et al, 2014;RAMOS et al, 2015;DEMONER et al, 2016). Many of these areas are also endemic for CVL, and co-infection has already been described in dogs from Rio Grande do Norte based only on molecular analyses (GONÇALVES et al, 2014). Herein, we described the occurrence of co-infection of dogs with H. canis and L. infantum or L. braziliensis, using molecular and histopathological analyses.…”