Vet World Vol.17 November-2024 Article - 18
Research Article
Veterinary World, 17(11): 2586-2594
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2024.2586-2594
Molecular prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia canis, and Coxiella burnetii in dogs and associated ticks in Egypt: Emerging One Health challenging zoonoses
2. Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
3. Department of Medicine and Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Hospital, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Background and Aim: Tick-borne pathogens pose a significant problem in canines, other animals, and humans worldwide. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia canis, and Coxiella burnetii in dogs and associated ticks in Egypt.
Materials and Methods: Blood samples from 110 tick-infested dogs and 550 whole ticks (divided into 110 pools) were collected and tested for the targeted pathogens using polymerase chain reaction (PCR).
Results: Of the 110 dog blood samples, B. burgdorferi DNA was detected in three samples, E. canis in six samples, and C. burnetii in one kenneled dog. Among the 110 tick pools, B. burgdorferi was detected in four pools, E. canis in 12 pools, and C. burnetii in three pools from kenneled dogs. The overall prevalence of the three agents in dog and tick samples were 3.18%, 8.18%, and 1.81%, respectively. Simultaneous positive PCR reactions in both dogs and their associated tick pools were observed in four cases. B. burgdorferi and E. canis were simultaneously detected in two dogs and two tick pools, whereas C. burnetii was detected in one dog but not in any tick pools. The three agents were simultaneously detected in one dog, but none were found in the corresponding tick pools. A mixed infection of C. burnetii and B. burgdorferi was observed in one dog and one tick pool.
Conclusion: Molecular diagnosis is the most reliable method for detecting B. burgdorferi, E. canis, and C. burnetii in dogs and associated ticks. E. canis showed the highest prevalence in both dog and tick samples followed by B. burgdorferi while C. burnetti showed the lowest prevalence. The potential transmission of these diseases from companion dogs to humans through ticks presents a significant challenge for the One Health concept.
Keywords: borreliosis, coxillosis, ehrlichiosis, pets, Rhipicephalus
How to cite this article: Ahmed ZS, Hesham N, Abdelhamid TM, Hashad ME, and Mahmoud H (2024) Molecular prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia canis, and Coxiella burnetii in dogs and associated ticks in Egypt: Emerging One Health challenging zoonoses, Veterinary World, 17(11): 2586-2594.
Received: 2024-07-28 Accepted: 2024-10-14 Published online: 2024-11-22
Corresponding author: E-mail:
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.2586-2594
Copyright: Ahmed, 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.
