Short Communication

Prevalence of select vector-borne disease agents in owned dogs of Ghana

Lorelei L. Clarke, Lora R. Ballweber, Kelly Allen, Susan E. Little, Michael R. Lappin
Journal of the South African Veterinary Association | Vol 85, No 1 | a996 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/jsava.v85i1.996 | © 2014 Lorelei L. Clarke, Lora R. Ballweber, Kelly Allen, Susan E. Little, Michael R. Lappin | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 26 January 2013 | Published: 11 September 2014

About the author(s)

Lorelei L. Clarke, Department of Pathology, University of Georgia, United States
Lora R. Ballweber, Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Colorado State University, United States
Kelly Allen, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Veterinary Pathobiology, Oklahoma State University, United States
Susan E. Little, Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Veterinary Pathobiology, Oklahoma State University, United States
Michael R. Lappin, Department of Clinical Sciences, Colorado State University, United States

Abstract

Ticks, sera and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) blood were collected from dogs evaluated at the Amakom Veterinary Clinic in Kumasi, Ghana. Sera were evaluated for Dirofilaria immitis antigen and antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Ehrlichia canis. Conventional polymerase chain reaction assays designed to amplify the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) ofEhrlichia spp. or Anaplasma spp. or Neorickettsia spp. or Wolbachia spp., Babesia spp., Rickettsia spp., Hepatozoon spp., Bartonella spp. and the haemoplasmas were performed on DNA extracted from EDTA blood and all positive amplicons were sequenced. This small survey shows that the following vector-borne pathogens are present in urban Ghanian dogs: Ehrlichia canis, Hepatozoon canis,Dirofilaria immitis and Anaplasma platys. Bartonella henselae was isolated from ticks but not from the dogs.

Keywords

bloodborne disease, canine, Ehrlichia spp., Ghana, Hepatozoon canis

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