Vet World Vol.17 March Article - 23
Research Article
Veterinary World, 17(3): 705-711
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.705-711
Seroprevalence of melioidosis and its association with blood profiles and pathogens in sheltered dogs in southern Thailand
1 Office of Administrative Interdisciplinary Program on Agricultural Technology, School of Agricultural Technology, King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang, Bangkok 10520 Thailand.
2 Akkhraratchakumari Veterinary College, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.
3 Centre for One Health, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.
4 Division of Tropical Health and Medicine, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Queensland, Australia.
5 Centre of Excellence Research for Melioidosis and Microorganisms, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand.
6 Department of Medical Technology, School of Allied Health, Sciences, Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80161, Thailand.
Background and Aim: Melioidosis is a notable zoonotic disease in Thailand that can affect both humans and animals. Although dogs are one of the most popular pets worldwide, there is a remarkable lack of information on the prevalence and knowledge of canine melioidosis. This study aimed to estimate the seroprevalence of melioidosis in sheltered dogs and its relationship with the blood profile and blood pathogens.
Materials and Methods: Melioidosis in 156 dogs was analyzed using an indirect hemagglutination assay. Hematology and serum biochemistry tests were performed using an automated system. Blood pathogens (e.g., Ehrlichia, Anaplasma, Hepatozoon, and Babesia) were diagnosed using conventional polymerase chain reaction.
Results: The seroprevalence rates of canine melioidosis and blood pathogen infection were 5.77% (9/156) and 50.64% (79/156), respectively. Seropositive dogs generally have higher lymphocyte counts and aspartate aminotransferase levels but lower total white blood cell, neutrophil, and platelet (PLT) counts than seronegative dogs. No statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed between the seropositive and seronegative dogs' hematology and serum biochemistry findings. Neither the correlation between melioidosis and blood pathogen infection nor the association between melioidosis and thrombocytopenia was statistically significant (p > 0.05). Remarkably, dogs that had coinfections with both melioidosis and blood pathogens demonstrated a significantly reduced PLTcount (49,167 ± 7,167) compared with dogs that tested positive for melioidosis but negative for blood pathogens (139,333 ± 29,913) (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: In southern Thailand, the prevalence of canine melioidosis was low but the prevalence of blood pathogens was high. Coinfection with blood pathogens can significantly reduce PLT counts, which may have a potentially serious impact. Future research should focus on conducting seroprevalence studies in the general dog population.
Keywords: blood pathogens, dogs, hematology, melioidosis, prevalence, serum biochemistry.
How to cite this article: Fungwithaya P, Boonhoh W, Sontigun N, Hayakijkosol O, Klangbud WK, and Wongtawan T (2024) Seroprevalence of melioidosis and its association with blood profiles and pathogens in sheltered dogs in southern Thailand, Veterinary World, 17(3): 705-711.
Received: 21-12-2023 Accepted: 04-03-2024 Published online: 25-03-2024
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.705-711
Copyright: Fungwithaya, 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.
