title: Prevalence and Molecular Characterization of Intestinal Trichomonads in Pet Dogs in East China.
abstract: The trichomonad speciesTritrichomonas foetusandPentatrichomonas hominiswere recently detected in the feces of dogs with diarrhea. However, little information is available on the prevalence and pathogenicity of these parasites in the canine population. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and molecular characterization of trichomonads infecting pet dogs in Anhui and Zhejiang provinces, east China. In total, 315 pet dogs, with or without diarrhea, from 7 pet hospitals were included in this epidemiological survey. Microscopy and PCR detectedP. hominisin 19.7% (62/315) and 31.4% (99/315) of fecal samples, respectively.T. foetusinfection was detected in 0% (0/315) of samples with microscopy and in 0.6% (2/315) with PCR. The prevalence ofP. hominiswas significantly higher in young dogs (≤12 months) than in adult dogs (>12 months), and was significantly higher in diarrheic dogs (50.6%) than in non-diarrheic dogs (24.3%;P<0.05). Infection withT. foetusdid not correlate with any risk factors evaluated in this study. A sequence analysis of theP. hominisPCR products showed minor allelic variations between our sequences and those ofP. hominisstrains from other hosts in different parts of the world. Type CC1 was the most common strain in dogs in east China. The internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1)-5.8S rRNA gene sequences from the 2T. foetusisolates detected in this study displayed 100% identity and were homologous to the sequences of other strains isolated from domestic cats in other countries.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, 233100, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wen-Chao
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, 233100, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, 233100, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, 233100, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jingjing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science, Anhui Science and Technology University, Fengyang, 233100, P. R. China.
authors.forename: You-Fang
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin University, Changchun, 130062, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Xi-Chen
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002415:Cats; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D007411:Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D008853:Microscopy; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D057805:Pets; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015995:Prevalence; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D012340:RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D016834:Trichomonadida / Q000302:isolation & purification*
chemical_list: D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D021903:DNA, Ribosomal Spacer; D012340:RNA, Ribosomal, 5.8S
keywords: Anhui; China; Pentatrichomonas hominis; Tritrichomonas foetus; Zhejiang province; pet dog