title: Prevalence and molecular characterization of Hepatozoon canis in dogs from urban and rural areas in Southeast Brazil.
abstract: The objective of this survey was to investigate the prevalence of Hepatozoon infection in dogs in the rural and urban areas of Uberlândia, Brazil by PCR and molecular characterization. DNA was obtained from blood samples collected from 346 local dogs from both genders and various ages. Seventeen PCR products from positive blood samples of urban dogs and 13 from the rural dogs were sequenced. Partial sequences of the 18S rRNA gene indicated that all 30 dogs were infected with Hepatozoon canis similar in sequence to H. canis from southern Europe. Four local dog sequences were submitted to GenBank (accessions JN835188; KF692038; KF692039; KF692040). This study indicates that H. canis is the cause of canine hepatozoonosis in Uberlândia and that infection is similarly widespread in rural and urban dogs.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: de Miranda
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: L H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: O'Dwyer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: J R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: de Castro
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Metzger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Rubini
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: A V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Mundim
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Eyal
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Talmi-Frank
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil. Electronic address: cury@umuarama.ufu.br.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cury
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Federal University of Uberlândia, Brazil.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baneth
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D016782:Apicomplexa / Q000235:genetics*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D030561:Databases, Nucleic Acid; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D015995:Prevalence; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012423:Rural Health; D012737:Sex Factors; D014504:Urban Health
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan
keywords: Brazil; Dogs; Hepatozoonosis; PCR; Prevalence