title: Occurrence of canine hemotropic mycoplasmas in domestic dogs from urban and rural areas of the Valdivia Province, southern Chile.
abstract: This is the first study to investigate the occurrence, risk factors and hematological findings of hemoplasmas in dogs from Chile. Complete blood count and 16S rRNA conventional PCR for Mycoplasma spp. were performed in 278 blood samples from rural (n=139) and urban (n=139) dogs in Valdivia. Real time 16S rRNA PCR (qPCR) allowed species identification. Mycoplasma spp. occurrence was 24.8%. 'Candidatus M. haematoparvum' (CMhp) was identified in 12.2% and Mycoplasma haemocanis (Mhc) in 11.9% dogs. It was not possible to identify species in two Mycoplasma spp. samples by qPCR. Sequencing allowed identifying one of them as 'Candidatus M. turicensis' (CMt). Frequency in rural localities was higher (41.7%) than in urban (7.9%). Rural locality, maleness and older age were risk factors for hemoplasmosis. Hemoplasma-positive dogs had a higher total protein. This is the first report of Mhc, CMhp and CMt in dogs from Chile, with a high occurrence in rural localities.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Soto
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
authors.forename: Romina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Gerencia de Áreas Silvestres Protegidas, Corporación Nacional Forestal, Santiago de Chile, Chile.
authors.forename: Maximiliano
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sepulveda
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
authors.forename: Pedro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bittencourt
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Preventive Medicine and Applied Research Program on Wildlife, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile.
authors.forename: Gerardo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Acosta-Jamett
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia, Chile. Electronic address: ananda.muller@uach.cl.
authors.forename: Ananda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D002677:Chile / Q000453:epidemiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004285:Dogs / Q000382:microbiology*; D009174:Mycoplasma / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D009175:Mycoplasma Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D057805:Pets / Q000382:microbiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
keywords: Hematological findings; Hemoplasma; Mycoplasma haemocanis; PCR; Risk factors; South America; qPCR; ‘Candidatus M. haematoparvun’; ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma turicensis’