Seroprevalence of tick-borne infections in endemic areas could be high. In
this study, we investigated the seroprevalence of tick-borne pathogens
(Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia canis, Ehrlichia
canis, Rickettsia conorii) in hunting dogs, naturally infected with one or
more pathogens. Serological test results of the investigated animals were
compared to those from clinical examination, as well as from haematological
and biochemical analyses. A total of 74.14% dogs were seropositive (R.conorii
44.83%, B. canis 32.76%, B. burgdorferi 25.86%, E. canis 13.79%, A.
phagocytophilum 8.47%), with 25.86% of dogs seropositive to two pathogens,
15.52% seropositive to three pathogens, and 1.72% of dogs seropositive to
four pathogens. Among all registered clinical signs, only pyrexia (p<0.05)
and arrhythmia (p<0.05) were significant in seropositive dogs. There was no
significant difference between seropositive and seronegative dogs regarding
the majority of haematological and biochemical parameters. Statistically
significant difference was registered for particular haematological (number
of red blood cells and seroreactivity to B. burgdorferi) and biochemical
parameters (albumin concentration and seroreactivity to E. canis, and AST and
seroreactivity to R. conorii) but these values were not clinically
significant. The high exposure to tick-borne pathogens suggests that
ectoparasitic profilactic treatment is not adequate in examined population of
hunting dogs. Clinical finding of pyrexia need to be further investigated and
explained etiologically, which means that molecular diagnosis should be used
in order to identify larger number of pathogens because of the possibility of
coinfection.
Current Surveys of the Seroprevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Leishmania infantum, Babesia canis, Angiostrongylus vasorum and Dirofilaria immitis in Dogs in Bulgaria
