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Molecular characterization of Hepatozoon canis in dogs from Colombia

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Abstract

Hepatozoonosis is a tick-borne disease whose transmission to dogs occurs by ingestion of oocysts infected ticks or feeding on preys infested by infected ticks. Until now, there is no previous report of molecular characterization of Hepatozoon sp. in dogs from Colombia. EDTA blood samples were collected from 91 dogs from central-western region of Colombia (Bogotá, Bucaramanga, and Villavicencio cities) and submitted to 18S rRNA Hepatozoon sp. PCR and blood smears confection. Phylogenetic analysis was used to access the identity of Hepatozoon species found in sampled dogs. From 91 sampled dogs, 29 (31.8%) were positive to Hepatozoon sp. (25 dogs were only positive in PCR, 1 was positive only in blood smears, and 3 were positive in both blood smears and PCR). After sequencing, the found Hepatozoon sp. DNA showed 100% of identity with Hepatozoon canis DNA isolates. The phylogenetic tree supported the identity of the found Hepatozoon sp. DNA, showing that the isolates from Colombia were placed in the same clade than other H. canis isolates from Venezuela, Spain, and Taiwan. This is the first molecular detection of H. canis in dogs from Colombia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y de Zootecnia. Departamento de Salud Animal, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia

    Giovanni Vargas-Hernandez

  2. Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV), Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil

    Giovanni Vargas-Hernandez, Marcos R. André, Thiago D. Munhoz, Joice M. L. Faria, Rosangela Z. Machado & Mirela Tinucci-Costa

  3. Departamento de Clínica Veterinária, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias Júlio de Mesquita Filho, Campus de Jaboticabal, Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, UNESP, s/n, Zona Rural, CEP: 14884-900, Jaboticabal, São Paulo, Brazil

    Mirela Tinucci-Costa

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  1. Giovanni Vargas-Hernandez
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  2. Marcos R. André
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  3. Thiago D. Munhoz
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  4. Joice M. L. Faria
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  5. Rosangela Z. Machado
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  6. Mirela Tinucci-Costa
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Correspondence to Mirela Tinucci-Costa.

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Vargas-Hernandez, G., André, M.R., Munhoz, T.D. et al. Molecular characterization of Hepatozoon canis in dogs from Colombia. Parasitol Res 110, 489–492 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2634-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2634-7

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