Dog survey in Russian veterinary hospitals: tick identification and molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens.

BACKGROUND: Species of Canidae in Russia can be infested with up to 24 different tick species; however, the frequency of different tick species infesting domestic dogs across Russia is not known. In addition, tick-borne disease risks for domestic dogs in Russia are not well quantified. The goal of this study was to conduct a nationwide survey of ticks collected from infested dogs admitted to veterinary clinics in Russian cities and to identify pathogens found in these ticks. METHODS: Ticks feeding on dogs admitted to 32 veterinary clinics in 27 major cities across Russia were preserved in ethanol and submitted to a central facility for examination. After identification, each tick was evaluated for infection with known tick-borne pathogens using PCR. RESULTS: There were 990 individual ticks collected from 636 dogs. All collected ticks belonged to the Ixodidae (hard ticks) and represented 11 species of four genera, Dermacentor, Ixodes, Rhipicephalus and Haemaphysalis. Four most common tick species were D. reticulatus, followed by I. persulcatus, I. ricinus and R. sanguineus. Ixodes persulcatus ticks were found to be infected with 10 different pathogens, and ticks of this species were more frequently infected than either D. reticulatus or I. ricinus. Ixodes persulcatus females were also more frequently co-infected with two or more pathogens than any other tick. Pathogenic species of five genera were detected in ticks: Anaplasma centrale, A. phagocytophilum and A. marginale; Babesia canis, B. microti, B. venatorum, B. divergens, B. crassa and B. vogeli; Borrelia miyamotoi, B. afzelii and B. garinii; Ehrlichia muris, E. canis and E. ruminantum; and Theileria cervi. Anaplasma marginale, E. canis, B. crassa, B. vogeli and T. cervi were detected in I. persulcatus, and Babesia canis in D. marginatum, for the first time in Russia. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple ticks from four genera and 11 species of the family Ixodidae were collected from domestic dogs across Russia. These ticks commonly carry pathogens and act as disease vectors. Ixodes persulcatus ticks present the greatest risk for transmission of multiple arthropod-borne pathogens.

Tickborne pathogen detection, Western Siberia, Russia.

Ixodes persulcatus (n = 125) and Dermacentor reticulatus (n = 84) ticks from Western Siberia, Russia, were tested for infection with Borrelia, Anaplasma/Ehrlichia, Bartonella, and Babesia spp. by using nested polymerase chain reaction assays with subsequent sequencing. I. persulcatus ticks were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (37.6% +/- 4.3% [standard deviation]), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (2.4% +/- 1.4%), Ehrlichia muris (8.8% +/- 2.5%), and Bartonella spp. (37.6% +/- 4.3%). D. reticulatus ticks contained DNA of B. burgdorferi sensu lato (3.6% +/- 2.0%), Bartonella spp. (21.4% +/- 4.5%), and Babesia canis canis (3.6% +/- 2.0%). Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, and their mixed infections were observed among I. persulcatus, whereas B. garinii NT29 DNA was seen in samples from D. reticulatus. Among the I. persulcatus ticks studied, no Babesia spp. were observed, whereas B. canis canis was the single subspecies found in D. reticulatus.