Vet World Vol.14 April-2021 Article-14
Research Article
Veterinary World, 14(4): 903-912
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.903-912
Prevalence, genetic, and biochemical evaluation of immune response of police dogs infected with Babesia vogeli
2. Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, 12211 Giza, Egypt.
3. Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza 12211, Egypt.
Background and Aim: Babesia species are tick-borne protozoan parasites of apicomplexan type which infect the erythrocytes of dogs it ranges from subclinical to severe cases, depending on different factors such as immune status, age, and presence of other co-infections with the Babesia species. Hence, this study aimed to identify the protozoan parasites infecting police dogs of different breeds, ages, and both sexes in Egypt. Concerning molecular detection of Babesia vogeli using conventional polymerase chain reaction sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, followed by the assessment of immunological and biochemical status of infected dogs.
Materials and Methods: The blood of 242 police K9 dogs was collected. The age, breed, sex, and health status with clinical signs of dogs were recorded. Hematological, biochemical, and oxidative stress analyses of the blood were performed together with gene expression analysis using two genes (gamma interferon [IFN-γ] and tumor necrosis factor-alpha [TNF- α]). The identification of the causative agent was performed using molecular analysis of the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA). The 18S rRNA region of canine Babesia spp. was successfully amplified, and sequencing data were deposited in GenBank (accession number: MT565474.1), which resembled those of B. vogeli.
Results: The results of blood samples screening revealed that of the 242 blood samples, 62 were positive for B. vogeli infection. The infection rate in male dogs was higher than that in female dogs. The police dogs were classified into the following three groups of dogs: (1st group) healthy, (2nd infected with B. vogeli, and mixed infection of B. vogeli and Ehrlichia canis). The oxidative stress biomarkers levels in B. vogeli infected dogs were greater than that of healthy dogs. Likewise, IFN-γ and TNF-α level in B. vogeli infected dogs were elevated in infected dogs.
Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that B. vogeli had completely adverse effects on the health condition of the police dogs that may lead to death in some dogs. Keywords: Babesia vogeli, Egypt, Ehrlichia canis, police dogs, tumor necrosis factor-alpha.
Keywords: Babesia vogeli, Egypt, Ehrlichia canis, police dogs, tumor necrosis factor-alpha.
How to cite this article: Zaki AA, Attia MM, Ismael E, Mahdy OA (2021) Prevalence, genetic, and biochemical evaluation of immune response of police dogs infected with Babesia vogeli, Veterinary World, 14(4): 903-912.
Received: 10-11-2020 Accepted: 25-02-2021 Published online: 15-04-2021
Corresponding author: Olfat Anter Mahdy E-mail: dr.olfat.mahdy@cu.edu.eg
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2021.903-912
Copyright: Zaki, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.