The prevalence of the dog babesiosis in aegean region

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of Babesia canis that causesbabesiosis in dogs in Aegean Region. We also aimed to determine the subspecies of B. canisin this region. Blood samples were collected from 320 stray dogs captured and kept inmunicipal shelters located in Central Aydin, Kusadasi, Selcuk, Central Manisa, Bodrum,Marmaris, all within the Aegean region of Turkey. Also, an additional 63 blood samples wereobtained from owned dogs that had been admitted to the Small Animal Clinic of VeterinaryFaculty, Adnan Menderes University. DNA was extracted from whole blood and PCR wasperformed by using B. canis specific primers. PCR results revealed that 40 dogs (10.4%)were infected with B. canis. In order to identify the subspecies of B. canis positive PCRsamples reverse line blot hybridisation technique was used. The results showed that allpositive samples were positive for B. canis vogeli. In addition to this, the PCR products of18S rRNA gene of B. canis isolated from seven infected dogs, one isolate originating fromeach of the six different locations and one from the Small Animal Clinic of VeterinaryFaculty, ADU were sequenced. The results of sequence analysis indicate that they are closelyrelated to B. canis vogeli (B. canis spp. Okinawa strain) with 99 % similarity.Key words: B. canis, B. canis canis, B. canis vogeli, B. canis rossi, PCR, RLB, dog