Özet:

We attempt to address new information of haematozoan infections in dogs from Samsun province of Turkey. The diagnostic techniques using genus specific polymerase chain reaction designed to amplify a fragment of ∼666 bp located in 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene of Hepatozoon spp. include microscopic investigations. H. canis identities were confirmed by sequencing the 18S rRNA gene. Two hundred (170 stray and 30 owned dogs) blood samples from asymptomatic dogs treated for endo and ecto parasites were examined. There were no detected ticks on dogs in the clinical examinations. None of 200 thin blood smears were positive for the presence of Hepatozoon spp. gametocytes. Only one dog sample from 200 with a prevalence of 0.5% was found to be positive for the presence of Hepatozoon DNA demonstrates a chronic infection. Partial sequences of the 18S rRNA gene shared 99-100% similarity with the corresponding H. canis isolates. Contrary the other molecular surveys on H. canis among Turkey, this research revealed a very low prevalence of H. canis in dogs from Samsun province of Turkey, and it indicates that ectoparasite control programs have a great impact on decreasing the vector borne parasitic diseases especially in the stray and owned dogs.

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