title: Molecular detection of Rangelia vitalii in domestic dogs from Uruguay.
abstract: The piroplasm Rangelia vitalii is the etiological agent of canine rangeliosis, a severe disease affecting domestic dogs in South America. Two domestic dogs from two different Departments (Salto and Treinta y Tres) of Uruguay presented with clinical signs such as apathy, anorexia, pale mucous membranes, jaundice, and hemorrhagic manifestations, suggestive of a canine vector-borne disease. Molecular analysis, based on PCR and DNA sequencing of portions of the 18S rRNA gene, revealed that both dogs were infected by R. vitalii. Two consensus sequences, one from Salto and one from Treinta y Tres, differed from each other by only 1 nucleotide (99.8% similarity) and were 99.8-100% identical to corresponding sequences of R. vitalii from Brazil and Argentina available in GenBank. Through phylogenetic analysis inferred by the 18S rRNA gene, the two Uruguayan sequences of R. vitalii were aligned with the corresponding sequences from 7 other R. vitalii sequences available in GenBank (5 from Brazil and, 2 from Argentina) under high bootstrap support. The two dogs of the present study were negative for Ehrlichia canis according to the E. canis-specific real-time PCR assay. Our findings not only confirm the occurrence of R. vitalii in Uruguay but also provide the southernmost record of this re-emerging agent. The only previous report of R. vitalii in Uruguay dated from 1976, a period when molecular analyses were not available. We provide the first molecular detection of R. vitalii in Uruguay. Currently, canine rangeliosis is confirmed to occur in Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando M. de Paiva 87, 05508-900 São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: João Fabio
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Soares
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Vectores y enfermedades transmitidas and Departamento de Parasitología Veterinaria, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, CENUR Litoral Norte, Rivera 1350, CP 50000 Salto, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carvalho
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Vectores y enfermedades transmitidas and Departamento de Parasitología Veterinaria, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, CENUR Litoral Norte, Rivera 1350, CP 50000 Salto, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maya
authors.affiliation: DILAVE Miguel C. Rubino, Laboratorio Regional Este, Avelino Miranda 2045, CP 33000 Treinta y Tres, Uruguay.
authors.forename: Fernando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dutra
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Vectores y enfermedades transmitidas and Departamento de Parasitología Veterinaria, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, CENUR Litoral Norte, Rivera 1350, CP 50000 Salto, Uruguay. Electronic address: jvenzal@unorte.edu.uy.
authors.forename: José Manuel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Venzal
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Orlando M. de Paiva 87, 05508-900 São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Labruna
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000469:parasitology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D016792:Piroplasmida / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology*; D014583:Uruguay / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Canine rangeliosis; Dogs; Rangelia vitalii; Uruguay