| Vector-borne pathogens in dogs from Egypt: seroprevalence and associated risk factors |
| Paper ID : 1052-IPCA4 |
| Authors: |
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Alireza Sazmand *1, Abdelfattah Selim2, Abdullah D. Alanazi3, Domenico Otranto4 1Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bu-Ali Sina University 6517658978 Hamedan, IRAN 2Department of Animal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Veterinary 420 Medicine, Benha University, Toukh 13736, Egypt 3Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Humanities, Shaqra University, P.O. Box 1040, Ad-Dawadimi 11911, Saudi Arabia 4Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Bari, Bari, Italy |
| Abstract: |
| Dogs play an important role as reservoirs of many zoonotic vector-borne pathogens worldwide, yet reports of canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) in Egypt are scarce. Serum samples were collected from pet dogs (i.e., n=500) of three most common breeds (i.e. German Shepherd, Rottweiler and Pit bull) in five Governates of Cairo (n=230), Giza (n=110), Al-Qalyubia (n=60), Al-Gharbia (n=60) and Kafr El-Sheikh (n=40) with hot desert climate. The presence of antibodies to Anaplasma spp. (A. phagocytophilum, A. platys), Ehrlichia spp. (E. canis, E. chaffeensis, E. ewingii), Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) and Dirofilaria immitis was assessed using IDEXX SNAP® 4Dx® ELISA tests. For each pathogen, risk factors (i.e., geographical area, keeping condition, sex, age, breed, tick infestation, weekly sanitation of dog enclosures and application of ectoparasiticides) were evaluated by logistic regression approach. In total, 18.2% (n=91, 95% CI: 15.1–21.8) of dogs scored seropositive for at least one pathogen, being the most frequent Ehrlichia spp. (n=56; 11.2%; 95% CI: 8.7–14.3) followed by Anaplasma spp. (n=33; 6.6%, 95% CI: 4.7–9.1), B. burgdorferi s.l. (n=9; 1.8%, 95% CI: 0.9–3.4) and D. immitis (n=7; 1.4%, 95% CI: 0.9–2.9). In the tested population,15.4% (95% CI: 12.5–18.8) of dogs were exposed to a single pathogen while 2.4 (95% CI: 1.4–4.2) and 0.4% (95% CI: 0.1–1.4) were simultaneously exposed to two or three pathogens, respectively. Major risk factors associated with VBDs were living outdoor (Anaplasma spp. P=0.0001, Ehrlichia spp. P=0.0001), female (Ehrlichia spp. P=0.005), German Shepherd breed (Anaplasma spp. P=0.04, Ehrlichia spp. P=0.03, ), tick infestation (Anaplasma spp. P=0.0001, Ehrlichia spp. P=0.0001, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. P=0.003, D. immitis P=0.02), irregular sanitation (Anaplasma spp. P=0.0001, Ehrlichia spp. P=0.0001, Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. P=0.002, D. immitis P=0.01) and not using ectoparasiticides (Anaplasma spp. P=0.0001, Ehrlichia spp. P=0.0001, B. burgdorferi s.l. P=0.007). To our knowledge, this is the first large-scale seroepidemiological study of CVBDs in Egypt. Considering that all of the detected pathogens are potentially zoonotic, effective ectoparasite control strategies, regular examination of pet dogs and successful chemoprophylaxis are advocated. |
| Keywords: |
| Anaplasma; Borrelia; Canine vector-borne pathogens; Egypt; Ehrlichia; One-health; Zoonosis |
| Status : Abstract Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
