title: Molecular prevalence and genetic characterization of piroplasms in dogs from Tunisia.
abstract: In this study, the prevalence of piroplasms in dogs was assessed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to identify Babesia and Theileria species in 200 dogs from Northern and Central Tunisia between spring and autumn 2014. The overall molecular prevalence for piroplasms was 14·5% ± 0·05 (29/200); PCR detected 2 species, namely Babesia vogeli and Theileria annulata with an overall prevalence of 12·5 ± 0·04 and 2% ± 0·02, respectively. No differences in the molecular prevalences of B. vogeli were revealed for age and sex (P > 0·05). The molecular prevalence of B. vogeli was significantly higher in central Tunisia (26·5% ± 0·01) compared with the North (9·6% ± 0·04) (P 0·05). Comparison of the partial sequences of 18S rRNA and Tams 1 genes confirmed the presence of 2 novel B. vogeli and T. annulata genotypes. This is the first molecular detection of T. annulata and genetic characterization of dogs' piroplasms in Tunisia. Further studies are needed to better assess the epidemiological feature of piroplasms infection in North Africa.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie,Univ. Manouba,Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles,École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet,2020 Sidi Thabet,Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mohamed R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Rjeibi
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie,Univ. Manouba,Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles,École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet,2020 Sidi Thabet,Tunisia.
authors.forename: Safa
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amairia
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie,Univ. Manouba,Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles,École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet,2020 Sidi Thabet,Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mariem
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rouatbi
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie,Univ. Manouba,Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles,École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet,2020 Sidi Thabet,Tunisia.
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ben Salem
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie,Univ. Manouba,Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles,École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet,2020 Sidi Thabet,Tunisia.
authors.forename: Moez
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mabrouk
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Parasitologie,Univ. Manouba,Institution de la Recherche et de l'Enseignement Supérieur Agricoles,École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet,2020 Sidi Thabet,Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gharbi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001403:Babesia / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D001404:Babesiosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D015800:Protozoan Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S / Q000235:genetics; D012621:Seasons; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D016794:Theileria / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014416:Tunisia / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D015800:Protozoan Proteins; D012337:RNA, Ribosomal, 18S
keywords: Babesia vogeli; Dog; PCR; Theileria annulata; Tunisia