Prevalence and epidemiological aspects of Dirofilaria immitis in dogs from Kayseri Province, Turkey

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Dirofilaria immitis infection and to investigate the risk factors related to heartworm disease in dogs from Kayseri, Turkey. Blood samples were collected from 280 dogs from May 2005 to March 2006 and were examined by membrane filtration-acid phosphatase histochemical staining and antigen Elisa techniques to detect circulating microfilariae and antigens of D. immitis, respectively. Of the total of 280 dogs, 27 were positive for D. immitis with a prevalence value of 9.6%. In addition 29.6% of positive dogs determined to have occult D. immitis infections. D. immitis was the only canine filarial parasite present in the study area. The mean number of microfilariae in infected dogs was 4730 +/- 5479 per ml of blood. The highest heartworm prevalence were observed in 7-10 age group (28.6%) followed by 4-6 (17.1%) and 0.5-3 (4.8%) age groups. The differences between 0.5-3 and other age groups were found significant, whereas no statistically significant difference was observed between 4-6 and 7-10 age groups. The infection was more prevalent in males, larger breeds and the dogs not on prophylaxis. No statistically significant difference was observed between stray and owned dogs. Our results suggest that heartworm treatment and prophylaxis should be considered in Kayseri Province. (C) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Detection of Theileria and Babesia species in ticks collected from cattle

The present study was carried out to detect tick species that infest cattle, and Theileria and Babesia species transmitted by these ticks in Kayseri province (Turkey). A total of 300 cattle were examined for tick infestations. Of the 300 cattle, 14 7 (39%) were infested with ticks. A total of 1160 ticks belonging to I I Ixodid genera were collected from the infested animals and their shelters. The most prevalent tick species was Boophilus annulatus 26.37% (306/1160) followed by Hyalomma marginatum marginatum 21.12% (245/1160) and Rhipicephalus turanicus 18.7% (217/1160). The collected ticks were separated into 43 tick pools, according to their species. These pools were examined for bovine Theileria and Babesia species (Thederia sp., Babesia sp., Theileria annulata, T buffelilorientalis, Babesia bigemina, B. bovis and B. divergens) by using the reverse line blotting method (RLB). Of the 43 tick pools examined, 6 (14%) were infected with B. bigemina, 4 (9.3%) with T annulata, and 1 (2.3%) with Babesia sp., whereas 1 (2.3%) displayed mixed infection with T annulata + B. bigemina. The sequence and phylogenetic analyses of Babesia sp., which could not be identified to the species level by RLB, were performed. In the phylogenetic tree, Babesia sp. (Kayseri 1) grouped with Babesia sp. (Kashi 2), Babesia sp. (Kashi 1), Babesia sp. (Xinjiang) and B. orientalis with 96.8-100% identity. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved