Publikationsdatenbank

Identical 18S rRNA haplotypes of Hepatozoon canis in dogs and foxes in Brandenburg, Germany (2020)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Helm, Christina S. (WE 13)

Samson-Himmelstjerna, Georg von (WE 13)

Liesner, Jana M. (WE 13)

Kohn, Barbara (WE 20)

Müller, Elisabeth

Schaper, Roland

Pachnicke, Stefan

Schulze, Christoph

Krücken, Jürgen (WE 13)

Quelle

Ticks and tick-borne diseases

Bandzählung: 11

Heftzählung: 6

Seiten: 101520

ISSN: 1877-959x

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

URL (Volltext): https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1877959X20300704

DOI: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2020.101520

Pubmed: 32993940

Kontakt

Institut für Parasitologie und Tropenveterinärmedizin

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 62310
parasitologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Hepatozoon canis is a blood parasite of the suborder Adeleorina infecting wild and domestic canids. Transmission occurs by oral uptake of Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato vector ticks infected with H. canis, but vertical transmission is also assumed to be possible. In German foxes, a high prevalence of H. canis has previously been reported despite the fact that R. sanguineus s.l. is not endemic. In the absence of knowledge about local transmission pathways, foxes should be considered to be possible reservoirs of H. canis and contribute to infection of domestic dogs. The present study aimed to determine how often foxes and dogs are infected in Brandenburg (Germany) and if identical or different H. canis 18S rRNA haplotypes are found in these host species. Hepatozoon spp. were detected by PCR in 46/1050 (4.4 %) of dog blood and 176/201 (77.6 %) of fox spleen samples from Brandenburg. Sequencing of 19 dog and 56 fox samples identified all as H. canis. For nine positive dogs, owners stated that they had never left Germany suggesting that autochthonous transmission occurs not only in foxes but also in dogs. Sequences for seven of these possible autochthonous cases were obtained and six were identical to the predominant haplotype found in the foxes. Haplotype network analysis confirmed that many dogs, including some without travel history, carried the same or very similar 18S rRNA haplotypes as the foxes suggesting that both hosts participate in the same epidemiological cycle.