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Detection of Babesia canis subspecies and other arthropod-borne diseases in dogs from Tirana, Albania

Nachweis von Babesia canis Subspezies und anderen Arthropoden-übertragenen Erkrankungen in Hunden aus Tirana, Albanien

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Zusammenfassung

Durch Arthropoden übertragene Infektionen haben in der jüngeren Vergangenheit zunehmend an Bedeutung gewonnen, auch bedingt durch vermehrte Reisen in, beziehungsweise Importe von Hunden aus Regionen, in denen die Erreger endemisch sind. Während die epidemiologische Situation im westlichen Mittelmeerraum gut dokumentiert ist, sind aus Osteuropa und dem Balkan vergleichsweise wenige Informationen verfügbar. In der vorliegenden Studie wurden Blutproben von 30 klinisch unauffälligen Hunden aus den Randgebieten von Tirana, Albanien, auf vektor-übertragene Infektionen untersucht. Mittels direkter und/oder indirekter Verfahren wurden die Blutproben auf Babesia canis, Hepatozoon spp., Leishmania spp., Dirofilaria spp., Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella spp. und Rickettsia spp. untersucht. Im Blut von 20 Hunden (= 67 %) wurden Antikörper bzw. Erreger durch Arthropoden übertragene Infektionen nachgewiesen. Antikörper gegen B. canis, E. canis und/oder A. phagocytophilum waren im Serum von 19 Hunden (= 63 %) nachweisbar. Bei 13 Hunden (= 43 %) erfolgte ein Erregernachweis mittels Blutausstrich, PCR oder ELISA, wobei B. canis canis, B. canis vogeli, Hepatozoon spp., D. immitis und/oder E. canis identifiziert wurden. Infektionen mit Leishmania spp., Bartonella spp. und Rickettsia spp. waren nicht nachweisbar.

Summary

Summary. The importance of arthropod-borne diseases increased in the recent past in particular due to frequent travel with dogs in or by importing of dogs from regions with endemic occurrence of these diseases. While the epidemiological situation is well known for the western parts of the Mediterranean, only limited data is available for Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Thirty clinically healthy dogs from suburban areas of Tirana, Albania, were tested for Babesia canis, Hepatozoon spp., Leishmania spp., Dirofilaria spp., Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Bartonella spp. and Rickettsia spp. using direct and indirect methods. Antibodies against and/or pathogens of arthropod-borne diseases were detected in the blood of 20 (67%) dogs. Nineteen dogs (63%) had antibodies against B. canis, E. canis and/or A. phagocytophilum. Babesia c. canis, Babesia c. vogeli, Hepatozoon spp., D. immitis and/or E. canis were identified by blood smear, PCR or ELISA in 13 (43%) dogs. There was no evidence for Leishmania spp., Bartonella spp. and Rickettsia spp. infections.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chair of Comparative Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany

    Dietmar Hamel, Cornelia Silaghi & Kurt Pfister

  2. Kathrinenhof Research Center, Merial GmbH, Rohrdorf-Lauterbach, Germany

    Martin Knaus, Martin Visser & Steffen Rehbein

  3. Klinika Veterinare, Rr. "M. Kashen", Tirana, Albania

    Ilir Kusi

  4. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania

    Dhimiter Rapti

Authors
  1. Dietmar Hamel
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  2. Cornelia Silaghi
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  3. Martin Knaus
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  4. Martin Visser
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  5. Ilir Kusi
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  6. Dhimiter Rapti
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  7. Steffen Rehbein
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  8. Kurt Pfister
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Correspondence to Dietmar Hamel.

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Hamel, D., Silaghi, C., Knaus, M. et al. Detection of Babesia canis subspecies and other arthropod-borne diseases in dogs from Tirana, Albania. Wien Klin Wochenschr 121 (Suppl 3), 42–45 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-009-1234-3

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