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Molecular prevalence and genetic characterization of piroplasms in dogs from Tunisia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 July 2016

MOHAMED R. RJEIBI ,
SAFA AMAIRIA ,
MARIEM ROUATBI ,
FATMA BEN SALEM ,
MOEZ MABROUK  and
MOHAMED GHARBI
MOHAMED R. RJEIBI
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Univ. Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
SAFA AMAIRIA
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Univ. Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
MARIEM ROUATBI
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Univ. Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
FATMA BEN SALEM
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Univ. Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
MOEZ MABROUK
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Univ. Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
MOHAMED GHARBI*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Univ. Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia
*
*Corresponding author: Laboratoire de Parasitologie, Univ. Manouba, Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles, École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet, 2020 Sidi Thabet, Tunisia. Tel: +216 71 552 200×264. Fax: +216 71 552 441. E-mail: [email protected]
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Summary

In this study, the prevalence of piroplasms in dogs was assessed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify Babesia and Theileria species in 200 dogs from Northern and Central Tunisia between spring and autumn 2014. The overall molecular prevalence for piroplasms was 14·5% ± 0·05 (29/200); PCR detected 2 species, namely Babesia vogeli and Theileria annulata with an overall prevalence of 12·5 ± 0·04 and 2% ± 0·02, respectively. No differences in the molecular prevalences of B. vogeli were revealed for age and sex (P > 0·05). The molecular prevalence of B. vogeli was significantly higher in central Tunisia (26·5% ± 0·01) compared with the North (9·6% ± 0·04) (P < 0·05). More working and companion dogs were infected by B. vogeli (25·8 ± 0·15 and 21·1% ± 0·13, respectively) in comparison with guarding dogs (1·8% ± 0·03) (P < 0·05). Concerning T. annulata, no significant variation was observed for all studied risk factors (P > 0·05). Comparison of the partial sequences of 18S rRNA and Tams 1 genes confirmed the presence of 2 novel B. vogeli and T. annulata genotypes. This is the first molecular detection of T. annulata and genetic characterization of dogs’ piroplasms in Tunisia. Further studies are needed to better assess the epidemiological feature of piroplasms infection in North Africa.

Keywords

Babesia vogeliTheileria annulataDogPCRTunisia
Type
Research Article
Information
Parasitology , Volume 143 , Issue 12 , October 2016 , pp. 1622 - 1628
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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