Epidemiological survey of ticks and tick-borne pathogens in pet dogs in south-eastern China

• Published in: Parasite (Paris) Vol. 24; p. 35
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jianwei, Liu, Qingbiao, Wang, Demou, Li, Wanmeng, Beugnet, Frédéric, Zhou, Jinlin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: France EDP Sciences 2017
• Subjects: Anaplasma; Anaplasma - immunology; Anaplasmosis - epidemiology; Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Antibodies, Bacterial - isolation & purification; Antibodies, Protozoan - blood; Antibodies, Protozoan - isolation & purification; Arachnids; Babesia - immunology; Babesia canis; Babesia gibsoni; Babesiosis - epidemiology; Borrelia - immunology; Borrelia burgdorferi; Borrelia Infections - epidemiology; Borrelia Infections - veterinary; China - epidemiology; Diagnostic systems; DNA - chemistry; DNA - isolation & purification; Dog Diseases - epidemiology; Dog Diseases - microbiology; Dog Diseases - parasitology; Dogs; Ehrlichia - immunology; Ehrlichia canis; Ehrlichiosis - epidemiology; Ehrlichiosis - veterinary; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; epidemiological survey; Epidemiology; Haemaphysalis longicornis; Infections; Infestation; Pathogens; pet dogs; Pets; Polymerase Chain Reaction - methods; Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; Positron emission; Prevention; Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides; Rhipicephalus sanguineus; south-eastern China; Tick Infestations - epidemiology; Tick Infestations - parasitology; Tick Infestations - veterinary; Tick-borne diseases; Tick-Borne Diseases - epidemiology; Tick-Borne Diseases - parasitology; Tick-Borne Diseases - veterinary; tick-borne pathogens; Ticks; Ticks - classification; Ticks - genetics; Ticks - immunology; Ticks - microbiology; Tomography; Veterinary medicine; China
• ISSN: 1776-1042; 1252-607X; 1776-1042
• DOI: 10.1051/parasite/2017036

To understand the epidemiology of tick infestation and tick-borne diseases in pet dogs in south-eastern China and to develop a reference for their prevention and treatment, we collected 1550 ticks parasitizing 562 dogs in 122 veterinary clinics from 20 cities of south-eastern China. Dogs were tested for common tick-borne pathogens; collected ticks were identified and processed for the detection of tick-borne pathogens. The use of an in vitro ELISA diagnostic kit for antibody detection (SNAP®4Dx® Plus) on dog sera found the infection rates with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Ehrlichia canis, and Anaplasma spp. to be 0.4%, 1.3% and 2.7%, respectively. By using a specific ELISA method, the infection rate with Babesia gibsoni was 3.9%. Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, Haemaphysalis longicornis and Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides were the major tick species identified on pet dogs. PCR tests were conducted to detect five tick-borne pathogens in 617 ticks. The infection rate was 10.2% for E. canis, 3.4% for Anaplasma platys, 2.3% for B. gibsoni, 0.3% for B. burgdorferi s.l. and 0% for Babesia canis. Some ticks were co-infected with two (1.46%) or three pathogens (0.16%). These results indicate the infestation of pet dogs by ticks infected with tick-borne pathogens in south-eastern China, and the need for effective treatment and routine prevention of tick infestations in dogs.