Species, developmental stage and infection with microbial pathogens of engorged ticks removed from dogs and questing ticks.

Research into tick-borne diseases implies vector sampling and the detection and identification of microbial pathogens. Ticks were collected simultaneously from dogs that had been exposed to tick bites and by flagging the ground in the area in which the dogs had been exposed. In total, 200 ticks were sampled, of which 104 came from dogs and 96 were collected by flagging. These ticks were subsequently examined for DNA of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia spp. and Babesia canis. A mixed sample of adult ticks and nymphs of Ixodes ricinus (Ixodida: Ixodidae) and Haemaphysalis concinna (Ixodida: Ixodidae) was obtained by flagging. Female I. ricinus and adult Dermacentor reticulatus (Ixodida: Ixodidae) ticks dominated the engorged ticks removed from dogs. Rickettsia spp. were detected in 17.0% of the examined ticks, A. phagocytophilum in 3.5%, B. canis in 1.5%, and B. burgdorferi s.l. in 16.0%. Ticks with multiple infections were found only among the flagging sample. The ticks removed from the dogs included 22 infected ticks, whereas the flagging sample included 44 infected ticks. The results showed that the method for collecting ticks influences the species composition of the sample and enables the detection of a different pattern of pathogens. Sampling strategies should be taken into consideration when interpreting studies on tick-borne pathogens.

Ticks and haemoparasites of dogs from Praia, Cape Verde.

In February 2008 an epidemiological field study on arthropod-borne infections in dogs was carried out in Praia, the capital city of Cape Verde. For this purpose 130 dogs were included in the study. Of these, 94.6% were infested with ticks. Altogether, 1293 ticks of the genus Rhipicephalus (in all evaluated cases R. sanguineus) were collected. Examination for haemotropic parasites was performed via polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Lymph node fine-needle aspirates were screened by PCR for Leishmania infantum infections in 20 dogs with enlarged lymph nodes. Our investigation revealed two species of protozoa (Babesia canis vogeli and Hepatozoon canis) and two species of rickettsiae (Anaplasma platys and Ehrlichia canis). In 101 dogs (77.7%) DNA of one or more pathogens was detected. The PCR examination for H. canis was positive in 83 dogs (63.8%), for E. canis in 34 dogs (26.2%), for A. platys in 10 dogs (7.7%) and for B. canis in five dogs (3.8%), whereas neither B. gibsoni nor L. infantum DNA could be detected. Of the infected dogs, 71.3% had a monoinfection, 27.7% had infections with two pathogens and 1.0% with three pathogens. B. canis, H. canis, E. canis, A. platys and their vector tick R. sanguineus are endemic to Cape Verde and can be present in dogs in high prevalences. These results outline the risk of importing tropical canine diseases when Capeverdian stray dogs are taken to Europe.