Questing Dermacentor reticulatus harbouring Babesia canis DNA associated with outbreaks of canine babesiosis in the Swiss Midlands

Schaarschmidt, Daniel; Gilli, Urs; Gottstein, Bruno; Marreros, Nelson; Kuhnert, Peter; Daeppen, Jérôme A.; Rosenberg, Gertrud; Hirt, Didier; Frey, Caroline F.

doi:10.1016/j.ttbdis.2013.01.007

Cited by 44 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The number of ticks collected in the surveyed areas is consistent with the findings of other surveys carried out in neighboring countries with similar ecological and host features, but is lower than that of D. reticulatus in the western and eastern Europe [32]. …”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

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The southernmost foci of Dermacentor reticulatus in Italy and associated Babesia canis infection in dogs

et al. 2016

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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.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

“…Our data represent one of the southernmost findings of D. reticulatus in Europe, which is usually reported in Switzerland [32], France [33, 34], Austria [35], Croatia [36] and Slovenia [37]. In addition, since a few specimens of D. reticulatus have been so far collected below the limit of 50°N (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

The southernmost foci of Dermacentor reticulatus in Italy and associated Babesia canis infection in dogs

et al. 2016

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“…To our knowledge, this study describes the first detection of B. canis in free-ranging wolves (5.5%) and a captive animal from Croatia (Wolf 109). As expected, based on analysis of 18S rRNA gene, the sequences were all identical to B. canis from Croatian dogs and similar to other European B. canis isolates [27, 28]. Interestingly, the prevalence of infected wolves from the Lika region and transitional habitat was almost identical.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

The prevalence and impact of Babesia canis and Theileria sp. in free-ranging grey wolf (Canis lupus) populations in Croatia

et al. 2017

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Background Babesia spp. and Theileria spp. are important emerging causes of disease in dogs. Alongside these domesticated hosts, there is increasing recognition that these piroplasms can also be found in a range of wild animals with isolated reports describing the presence of these pathogen in foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and captive grey wolves (Canis lupus). The prevalence and impact of these infections in free-ranging populations of canids are unknown. To gain a better insight into the epidemiology and pathogenesis of piroplasm infections in free-ranging grey wolves, pathological and molecular investigations into captive and free-ranging grey wolves in Croatia were performed.ResultsThe carcasses of 107 free-ranging wolves and one captive wolf were the subjects of post-mortem investigations and sampling for molecular studies. A blood sample from one live captured wolf for telemetric tracking was also used for molecular analysis. PCR amplification targeting the 18S RNA gene revealed that 21 of 108 free-ranging wolves and one captive animal were positive for Theileria/Babesia DNA. Subsequent sequencing of a fragment of the 18S RNA gene revealed that 7/22 animals were positive for Babesia canis while the other amplified sequence were found to be identical with corresponding 18S rDNA sequences of Theileria capreoli isolated from wild deer (15/22). Haematological and cytological analysis revealed the presence of signet-ring shaped or pear-shaped piroplasms in several animals with the overall parasite burden in all positive animals assessed to be very low. Pathological investigation of the captive animal revealed fatal septicemia as a likely outcome of hemolytic anaemia. There was little or no evidence of hemolytic disease consistent with babesiosis in other animals.ConclusionImportantly, the presence of B. canis in free-ranging grey wolves has not been described before but has been reported in a single fox and domestic dogs only. That B. canis infections cause disease in dogs but have little impact on wolf health possibly suggests that the wolf is the natural and the domestic dog is a secondary host. Surprisingly, the frequent finding of Theileria capreoli in wolves suggests that this Theileria species is not restricted to ungulates (cervids) but commonly infects also this carnivore species. Nevertheless, the potential role that these asymptomatically infected animals may play in the dispersal of these pathogens to susceptible sympatric species such as domesticated dogs requires further investigation.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2106-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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“…Areas around large towns and capital cities have been reported previously to constitute major foci high-density-tick sites for the expanding D. reticulatus populations, with an associated high risk of canine babesiosis, as for example in Paris (Halos et al, 2013), Geneva (Schaarschmidt et al, 2013) and Warsaw (Zygner et al, 2009;Zygner and Wędrychowicz, 2006). Human behavior is probably at the root cause of these foci, city dwellers travelling with their pets to tick endemic areas for holidays or weekends and then bringing back ticks on their pets to new locations in urban sites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of changes in agricultural practices on the density of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks

Mierzejewska

Alsarraf

Behnke

et al. 2015

Veterinary Parasitology

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Questing Dermacentor reticulatus harbouring Babesia canis DNA associated with outbreaks of canine babesiosis in the Swiss Midlands

Cited by 44 publications

References 22 publications

The southernmost foci of Dermacentor reticulatus in Italy and associated Babesia canis infection in dogs

The southernmost foci of Dermacentor reticulatus in Italy and associated Babesia canis infection in dogs

The prevalence and impact of Babesia canis and Theileria sp. in free-ranging grey wolf (Canis lupus) populations in Croatia

The effect of changes in agricultural practices on the density of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks

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