Retrospective molecular study on canine hepatozoonosis in Slovakia Does infection risk for dogs really exist?

This study provides the very first evidence of Hepatozoon canis infection in dogs from Slovakia, a Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato free area. In total, 297 red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) and 293 dogs, from three regions of Slovakia, were screened for the presence of H. canis using a conventional 18S rRNA polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Genomic DNA of this blood parasite was detected in 51 (17.1%) foxes from all sampling regions in Slovakia, whereas the overall prevalence in examined dogs was significantly lower, only 1.0%. Identity between nucleotide sequences from Slovak foxes and dogs ranged from 97.3 to 100%. Phylogenetic analysis showed that H. canis isolates from Slovakia are divided into two clusters, suggesting the coexistence of strain variants with unknown pathogenicity which needs to be further explored. (C) 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.