Identification of Hepatozoon and Cercopithifilaria in ticks infesting dogs of different regions of Iran

Document Type : Paper, Persian

Authors

1 Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran

2 Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy

Abstract

Following previous detection of Hepatozoon canis and Cercopithifilaria bainae in dogs from Iran, this study aimed to identify potential tick vectors collected from dogs from five provinces of Iran. From October 2018 to September 2021, a total of 222 owned and 541 sheltered dogs from Hamedan (n=305), Kermanshah (n = 227), Yazd (n =80), Khouzestan (n =71), and Mazandaran (n =80) were examined for ticks. Collected ticks (n =3339) were identified morphologically, and adults were screened for the detection of Hepatozoon and Cercopithifilaria either with conventional PCR (n=119 ticks), tick dissection (n=106), or microscopical examination after fixation in formalin (n =102). A total of 169 dogs (22.1%) were infested with ticks. Tick infestation rate varied in different provinces (i.e., 32.4% in Hamedan, 27.3% in Kermanshah, 10.0% in Yazd), but no ticks were collected in dogs from Mazandaran and Khouzestan. The majority of male ticks were identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (89.3%) and Rhipicephalus turanicus, but one dog from Kermanshah was infested with Hyalomma asiaticum (1 male and 1 female) and Hyalomma excavatum (1 male). At the molecular examination, Cercopithifilaria was detected in 14.28%, Hepatozoon in 6.7% ticks, and both parasites in 1.68% of Rhipicephalus ticks. Parasites were not observed at tick dissection and histological examinations. Nucleotide sequencing and phylogenetic analyses revealed C. bainae and H. canis in R. sanguineus sensu lato and R. turanicus ticks. Data suggests that both tick species above may play a role in the epidemiology of Cercopithifilaria and Hepatozoon in Iran.
 
 

Graphical Abstract

Identification of Hepatozoon and Cercopithifilaria in ticks infesting dogs of different regions of Iran

Keywords

Main Subjects

 © 2023 by Author(s), Published by the Entomological Society of Iran

This Work is Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial 4.0 International Public License

References

انی آلودگی به کنه و نیز فون کنه­های سگ­ در بسیاری از نقاط کشور تاکنون نامشخص است برنامه­ریزی جهت مطالعات گسترده­ی اپیدمیولوژیک در یک بازه­ی زمانی معین ضروری به نظر می­رسد.
نتیجه­گیری
مطالعه­ی حاضر نشان­ دهنده­ی نقش کنه­های ­Rhipicephalus sanguineus و Rhipicephalus turanicus­ در اپیدمیولوژی انگل­های Cercopithifilaria bainae و Hepatozoon canis در ایران است. جهت محافظت سگ­ها از کنه­زدگی و متعاقباً بروز بیماری­های کنه­زاد ازجمله سرکوپیتی­فیلاریوزیس و هپاتوزوئونوزیس استفاده از داروها و سموم مؤثر و نیز قلاده­های ضدانگل خارجی پیشنهاد می­گردد.
 
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