Molecular detection of tick-borne haemopathogens in shelter dogs and Rhipicephalus sanguineus (sensu lato) ticks from Peninsular Malaysia

AbstractBackground Canine tick-borne haemopathogens (TBH) constitute a significant concern worldwide. The detection of these TBH is mainly achieved by microscopic evaluation, seroprevalence, and molecular detection. The present study was designed to investigate the molecular detection of Anaplasma platys ,Babesia gibsoni, Babesia vogeli, andEhrlichia canisin shelter dogs andRhipicephalus sanguineus ( sensu lato )ticks infesting them in Malaysia.Results A total of 220 blood samples and 140 ticks were collected from 10 animal shelters in Peninsular Malaysia. The presence of haemopathogens was detected using conventional PCR, sequenced, and identified at the species level. Of the 220 blood samples, 77 (35%) were positive with at least one of the four haemopathogens, of whichE. canispredominated (20%) followed by B. gibsoni andB. vogeliboth with detection of 7%, andA. platys(12%). In tick samples, 5 (3.57%) of the collected samples were positive with at least one of the three haemopathogens. Low detection ofE. canisand A. platys were present (n = 2; 1.43%) as well asB. vogelishows only 1 sample positive (0.71%) and no detection of B. gibsoni . For co-infection in dogs, single infection is common (24%), while co-infection with two haemopathogens (10%) was also observed. The occurrence of infection with three TBH was also observed in the sampled dogs (1%).ConclusionE. canisis the most common TBH affecting shelter dogs in Peninsular Malaysia. Co-infection is quite common and the most common co-infection present wasE. canisandA. platys. The study highlighted the first extensive molecular detection of TBH in dogs and R. sanguineus ( sensu lato ) ticks in Malaysia