Abstract
BackgroundCanine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) represent a wide group of diseases of major significance for canine health. In addition to their veterinary importance, many of these diseases are of great zoonotic concern, posing a risk of potential transmission to humans. To date, there has been scant knowledge regarding the prevalence, distribution and risk factors of CVBDs in Greece. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to update the current knowledge on the seroprevalence of Dirofilaria immitis, Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) in dogs in Greece and, furthermore, to assess possible environmental and any other risk factors associated with these infections. A total of 1000 apparently healthy and randomly selected dogs, presented in veterinary clinics, were involved at the national level (n = 66 municipalities). Serum samples were obtained from each individual dog and were tested using the SNAP® 4Dx® Plus kit from IDEXX Laboratories. Possible risk factors were assessed using binary regression models, including dogs’ lifestyle, climatological parameters and the altitude of the region.ResultsOverall, 21.8% (95% CI: 19.4–24.5%) of the sampled dogs were found to be seropositive to at least one of the four pathogens examined. The most prevalent pathogen was Ehrlichia spp. (12.5%, 95% CI: 10.6–14.7) followed by D. immitis (9.0%, 95% CI: 7.8–11.5) and Anaplasma spp. (6.2%, 95% CI: 4.9–7.9). The lowest prevalence (0.1%) was recorded for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) where only one dog was found to be positive. Among the examined risk factors, low mean temperature was found to increase the prevalence of Ehrlichia spp. (P ≤ 0.001) and Anaplasma spp. (P ≤ 0.001), while low minimum temperature increased the prevalence of D. immitis (P ≤ 0.001). In addition, low total annual rainfall had an effect of the prevalence of Ehrlichia spp. (P ≤ 0.01). Altitude also had a significant effect on the prevalence of D. immitis (P ≤ 0.05) and Anaplasma spp. (P ≤ 0.01).ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first large-scale seroepidemiological study of CVBDs in Greece. It has been evidenced that environmental factors such as temperature, rainfall and altitude can influence the prevalence and distribution of CVBDs.
Highlights
Canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) represent a wide group of diseases of major significance for canine health
Seroprevalence of CVBDs in the studied dog population Overall, 21.8% (218/1000, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 19.4–24.5%) of the sampled dogs were found to be seropositive to at least one of the four pathogens examined in this present study (Table 2)
The most prevalent canine vector-borne pathogen was Ehrlichia spp. (12.5%, 125/1000, 95% CI: 10.6–14.7%) followed by D. immitis (9.0%, 90/1000, 95% CI: 7.8–11.5%) and Anaplasma spp. (6.2%, 62/1000, 95% CI: 4.9–7.9%); the lowest prevalence was recorded for B. burgdorferi (s.l.) where only one dog was found to be positive (0.1%)
Summary
Canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) represent a wide group of diseases of major significance for canine health In addition to their veterinary importance, many of these diseases are of great zoonotic concern, posing a risk of potential transmission to humans. The objectives of the present study were to update the current knowledge on the seroprevalence of Dirofilaria immitis, Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp. and Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato) in dogs in Greece and, to assess possible environmental and any other risk factors associated with these infections. The control of these diseases is a challenging field with evident benefits for both animal and public health [3, 8] In this respect, Ehrlichia canis, Dirofilaria immitis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi are of great concern [4]. Apart from the life-cycle of vectors, the reproduction and survival rate of the parasitic and viral agents inside vectors and definitive hosts have been found to be affected by environmental temperature [11]
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