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Ticks and associated pathogens from dogs in northern Vietnam

  • Arthropods and Medical Entomology - Original Paper
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Abstract

The medical and veterinary significance of ticks and tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) in tropical and subtropical zones is well recognized. Although ticks and TBPs are known to occur in Southeast Asia, limited data is available in the international literature for some countries, such as Vietnam. The aim of this study was to investigate the species of ticks and TBPs associated with dogs in northern Vietnam. Out of 359 dogs enrolled in this study, 26.2% (n = 94) were infested by 466 ticks (i.e., 287 males, 139 females, 30 nymphs, and 10 larvae). All ticks were morphologically identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato, and some of them genetically characterized as belonging to the tropical lineage. A total of 302 ticks were molecularly screened for the detection of selected TBPs. Three ticks were positive for Hepatozoon canis, one for Ehrlichia canis, and one for Babesia vogeli, representing the first molecular characterization of these pathogens in Vietnam. In conclusion, the tropical lineage of R. sanguineus s.l. is the dominant tick taxon infesting dogs from northern Vietnam, where different TBPs are circulating.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Valenzano, 70010, Bari, Italy

    Viet Linh Nguyen, Vito Colella, Roberta Iatta, Filipe Dantas-Torres & Domenico Otranto

  2. Parasitology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, 100000, Vietnam

    Khanh Linh Bui

  3. Department of Immunology, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Aggeu Magalhães Institute, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670420, Brazil

    Filipe Dantas-Torres

Authors
  1. Viet Linh Nguyen
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  2. Vito Colella
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  3. Roberta Iatta
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  4. Khanh Linh Bui
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  5. Filipe Dantas-Torres
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  6. Domenico Otranto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Domenico Otranto.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical approval

Informed consent and agreement were obtained from dog owners before sampling ticks. All applicable international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Handling editor: Julia Walochnik

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Nguyen, V.L., Colella, V., Iatta, R. et al. Ticks and associated pathogens from dogs in northern Vietnam. Parasitol Res 118, 139–142 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-6138-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-018-6138-6

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