title: Non-pet dogs as sentinels and potential synanthropic reservoirs of tick-borne and zoonotic bacteria.
abstract: Blood samples were collected from 100 shepherd dogs, 12 hunting dogs and 14 stray dogs (apparently healthy) in southern Hungary to screen for the presence of emerging tick-borne pathogens. Based on real-time PCR results, 14 dogs (11%) had single or dual haemoplasma infection, and a same number of samples were positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. In one sample Coxiella burnetii was molecularly identified, and 20.3% of dogs seroconverted to the Q fever agent. Rickettsaemia (sensu stricto) was also detected in one animal. This is the first molecular evidence of autochthonous infection of dogs with the above pathogens in Hungary. The relatively high prevalence of haemoplasma and anaplasma infection among non-pet dogs is suggestive of a prolonged carrier status and bacteraemia of these animals rendering them epidemiologically significant as potential reservoirs and sentinels for tick-borne infections.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Zoology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, István u. 2, 1078 Budapest, Hungary. Electronic address: Hornok.Sandor@aotk.szie.hu.
authors.forename: Sándor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hornok
authors.forename: Béla
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dénes
authors.forename: Marina L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Meli
authors.forename: Balázs
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tánczos
authors.forename: Lilla
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fekete
authors.forename: Miklós
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gyuranecz
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de la Fuente
authors.forename: Isabel G Fernández
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: de Mera
authors.forename: Róbert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farkas
authors.forename: Regina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hofmann-Lehmann
mesh_terms: D000709:Anaplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D016997:Coxiella burnetii / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D004197:Disease Reservoirs / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000635:transmission; D004285:Dogs; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D012281:Rickettsia / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance; D017282:Tick-Borne Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Anaplasma phagocytophilum; Coxiella burnetii; Haemoplasma; Rickettsia