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Molecular epidemiology and prevalence of babesial infections in dogs in two hyperendemic foci in Brazil

  • Protozoology - Short Communication
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Abstract

Babesial parasites are some of the most ubiquitous blood pathogens and consequently have considerable worldwide veterinary impact. Dogs living in the tropics are highly exposed to babesial parasites, particularly to Babesia vogeli. Limited data on the seroprevalence and molecular prevalence of Babesia spp. in dogs are available in Latin America. We conducted a cross-sectional study combining serological and molecular tests to estimate the seroprevalence and molecular epidemiology of Babesia spp. infections in dogs in two hyperendemic foci in Brazil. A total of 630 privately owned dogs (417 from Goiana municipality, Pernambuco state, north-eastern Brazil, and 213 from São Joaquim de Bicas municipality, Minas Gerais state, south-eastern Brazil) were sampled and molecularly and serologically tested for Babesia spp. Overall, 519 dogs (82.4%) presented detectable IgG antibodies against Babesia spp., and seropositivity was significantly higher in dogs older than 1 year. Molecularly, 34 dogs (5.4%) were positive for a ~ 200 bp fragment of the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia spp. and 88 (14.0%) for a longer fragment (~ 450 bp) of the same gene of Babesia spp. and other protozoa. The 18S rRNA gene sequences generated herein corresponded to B. vogeli (n = 52) or Hepatozoon canis (n = 20). This study confirms a high level of exposure to B. vogeli in two areas of Brazil and highlights that most of the dogs living in these areas are infected during the course of their life, reflected by increased seroprevalence in older dogs. Increased awareness and prevention of tick-borne protozoa infections in dogs from Brazil and Latin America are urgently needed.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Secretaria Estadual de Saúde de Pernambuco and Secretaria Municipal de Saúde de Goiana for their logistic support during field activities. Thanks also to all students and veterinarians participating in the fieldwork and to Gabriela Dantas Torres Guimarães for data quality control.

Funding

This study was sponsored by Elanco Animal Health. FDT is the recipient of a research fellowship from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico CNPq (CNPq; 313118/2018–3).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology, Aggeu Magalhães Institute Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Filipe Dantas-Torres, Joanna Alexandre, Débora Elienai de Oliveira Miranda, Luciana Aguiar Figueredo, Kamila Gaudêncio da Silva Sales & Lucas Christian de Sousa-Paula

  2. Centro Universitário do Vale do Ipojuca (UNIFAVIP/Wyden), Caruaru, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Lidiane Gomes da Silva

  3. Veterinary School, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Betim, Brazil

    Guilherme Ribeiro Valle & Vitor Márcio Ribeiro

  4. Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università Degli Studi di Bari, Valenzano, Italy

    Domenico Otranto

  5. Elanco Animal Health, Monheim, Germany

    Katrin Deuster, Matthias Pollmeier & Gertraut Altreuther

Authors
  1. Filipe Dantas-Torres
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  2. Joanna Alexandre
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  3. Débora Elienai de Oliveira Miranda
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  4. Luciana Aguiar Figueredo
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  5. Kamila Gaudêncio da Silva Sales
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  6. Lucas Christian de Sousa-Paula
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  7. Lidiane Gomes da Silva
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  8. Guilherme Ribeiro Valle
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  9. Vitor Márcio Ribeiro
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  10. Domenico Otranto
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  11. Katrin Deuster
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  12. Matthias Pollmeier
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  13. Gertraut Altreuther
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Filipe Dantas-Torres.

Ethics declarations

Ethical approval

The Committee on Ethics in the Use of Animals (CEUA, project number: 66/2014) of the Aggeu Magalhães Institute (Fiocruz) approved the procedures used in this study. Dog owners signed a consent form before the inclusion of their animals in this study.

Conflict of interest

GA, KD, and MP are employees of Elanco Animal Health. FDT and DO are members of the CVBD World Forum, whose activities are sponsored by Elanco Animal Health. JA, DEOM, LAF, KGSS, LCSP, LGS, GRV, and VMR declare they have no competing interests.

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Dantas-Torres, F., Alexandre, J., Miranda, D.E.d. et al. Molecular epidemiology and prevalence of babesial infections in dogs in two hyperendemic foci in Brazil. Parasitol Res 120, 2681–2687 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07195-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07195-8

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