Volume: 4, 2025
4th International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: A024
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL4.A024
Published online: 9 April 2025
ICDSUPL, 4, A024 (2025)
Prevalence of Hepatozoon canis infection in dogs from the area of Lublin Voivodship
Maria Pisarek1*, Banu Dokuzeylul2, Małgorzata Rutkowska3, Łukasz Deneka3, Łukasz Adaszek1
1 Department of Epizootiology and Clinic of Infectious Disease, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Głęboka 30, 20-612 Lublin, Poland
2 Department of Internal Medicine, Veterinary Faculty, Istanbul University Cerraphasa, 34320 Avcilar Campus, Avcilar, Istanbul, Turkey
3 Vet Planet sp. z o.o., Brukowa 36/2, 05-092 Łomianki, Poland
* Corresponding author: maria.pisarek@up.lublin.pl
Abstract
Canine hepatozoonosis is a disease caused by Hepatozoon-apicomplexan parasites (family: Hepatozoidae) phylogenetically closely related to the piroplasms. Two species of these parasites may infect dogs: H. americanum and H. canis. Canine hepatozoonosis caused by H. canis is a common infection of dogs reported originally from the Old World and more recently also from South and North America, while H. americanum infections are reported exclusively in North America. Hepatozoon transmission takes place by ingestion of the definitive host (R. sanguineus) containing Hepatozoon oocysts by the intermediate host (dogs). It has been shown that some species of Hepatozoon are also transmitted by the predation of one vertebrate upon another infected vertebrate host. The aim of the paper was to attempt to detect the genetic material of H. canis in blood samples collected from dogs suspected to suffer from tick-borne diseases. All blood samples were analysed in a Vcheck M Bionote analyser, which isolated whole blood DNA, and amplified the DNA of Leishmania spp., Babesia spp., Mycoplasma haemocanis, Hepatozoon spp., Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma spp., Rickettsia rickettsi, Bartonella spp. in real-time PCR (Canine Vector8 Panel). All DNA samples positive for Hepatozoon were additionally amplified and sequenced according to the procedure des. PCR was performed using the forward primer Hep1 and reverse primer Hep2 that amplified the fragment of 18S ribosomal RNA gene of Hepatozoon spp., with a size of 666-bp. Each reaction mixture (50 μL) contained 100 μM of each dNTP,1.6 mM of MgCl2, 0.25 μM of each primer, 2.5 U of Taq DNA polymerase, and 5 μL of DNA template. PCR amplification was performed using a programmable thermal cycler with the following program: The DNA sequence was determined on both strands using the same primers employed for PCR at a DNA sequencing core facility. DNA sequences were assembled and edited using SeqMan, and Clustal V alignments to the published H. canis 18S rRNA gene. DNA of H. canis was detected in 1 dog in group 1 (with Ixodes ricinus infestation), and in 2 dogs in group 2 (with Rhipicephalus sanguineus infestation). The results obtained indicate that infections with H. canis should be taken into account and included in the differential diagnosis of vector-borne diseases in dogs in Poland, and the accurate identification of the infection agent is crucial for developing the correct treatment regimen and prognosis.
Keywords: Hepatozoon canis, PCR, vector-borne disease
How to cite
M. Pisarek, B. Dokuzeylul, M. Rutkowska, Ł. Deneka, Ł. Adaszek, 2025. Prevalence of Hepatozoon canis infection in dogs from the area of Lublin Voivodship. In: 4th International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL4.A024