Abstract
BackgroundTwo clustered clinical cases of canine babesiosis were diagnosed by veterinary practitioners in two areas of northeastern Italy close to natural parks. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of babesial infection in dogs, the etiological agents that cause canine babesiosis and the potential tick vector for the involved Babesia spp.MethodsThe study area was represented by two parks in northeastern Italy: Groane Regional Park (Site A) and the Ticino Valley Lombard Park (Site B). From March to May 2015 ticks were collected from the vegetation in three transects in each site. In the same period, blood samples were collected from 80 dogs randomly chosen from veterinary clinics and kennel located in the two areas. Morphological identification of the ticks was performed and six specimens were molecularly characterised by the amplification and sequencing of partial mitochondrial 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA and cox1 genes. For phylogenetic analyses, sequences herein obtained for all genes and those available from GenBank for other Dermacentor spp. were included. Dog serum samples were analysed with a commercial indirect fluorescent antibody test to detect the presence of IgG antibodies against Babesia canis. Ticks and blood samples were tested by PCR amplification using primers targeting 18S rRNA gene of Babesia spp.ResultsTicks collected (n = 34) were morphologically identified as adults of D. reticulatus. Twenty-eight ticks were found in all transects from Site A and the remaining six were collected in Site B. Blast analysis of mitochondrial sequences confirmed the morphological identification of processed tick specimens by revealing a highest nucleotide similarity (99–100 %) with those of D. reticulatus available in the GenBank database. The phylogenetic trees were concordant in clustering D. reticulatus in a monophyletic clade. Seven dogs (8.8 %) had antibodies against B. canis, most of which (n = 6) came from Site A. Analysis of nucleotide sequences obtained from one tick and from one dog identified B. canis displayed a 100 % similarity to those available in GenBank.ConclusionsThis study morphologically and molecularly confirms the presence of D. reticulatus in Italy and links it, for the first time, with the occurrence of B. canis infection in dogs in this country.
Highlights
Two clustered clinical cases of canine babesiosis were diagnosed by veterinary practitioners in two areas of northeastern Italy close to natural parks
Canine babesiosis by B. canis is primarily focally distributed in central Europe, whereas in the Mediterranean basin it is mainly caused by Babesia vogeli, where it is associated with the distribution of R. sanguineus (s.l.)
Adult specimens of D. reticulatus were differentiated by the presence of a spur on the dorsal surface, extending posteriorly, of the second palp articles, a bifid coxa, with coxal spurs in coxa I not divergent, spiracle plates comma-shaped with a small dorsal apofisa
Summary
Two clustered clinical cases of canine babesiosis were diagnosed by veterinary practitioners in two areas of northeastern Italy close to natural parks. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of babesial infection in dogs, the etiological agents that cause canine babesiosis and the potential tick vector for the involved Babesia spp. The tick species most frequently found on dogs in Europe is Ixodes ricinus in central and southern Europe, Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato) (s.l.) in countries on the Mediterranean basin and Dermacentor reticulatus in north-central and eastern Europe [1,2,3]. Canine babesiosis by B. canis is primarily focally distributed in central Europe, whereas in the Mediterranean basin it is mainly caused by Babesia vogeli, where it is associated with the distribution of R. sanguineus (s.l.). Following the sole report of D. reticulatus in Italy [20], this tick species has never been reported again in this country and B. canis was detected only molecularly in a few animals from central and northern Italy [17, 21]
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