Molecular detection of Borrelia burgdorferisensulato in tick infested dogs in Isfahan province, Iran

Introduction and Objectives: Lyme borreliosis is caused by Borreliaburgdorferiand is one of the most common vectors borne diseases transmitted by ticks and has a worldwide geographic distribution the current study was carried out to evaluate the presence of B. burgdorferisensulato in blood samples of ninety-seven guard and sheep dogs in Isfahan, Iran using PCR technique. Dogs are infected to this spirochete by blacklegged tick or Ixodesricinus bite. The tick has horizontal transmission and tick Maternal transmission of parasite is not approved yet. Material and Methods: Ninety-seven blood samples of guard and sheep dogs in districts of Isfahan, Iran with average age of 3.5 years were selected randomly and examined. PCR was applied to analyze the extracted DNA from blood samples. Result: Out of ninety-seven guard and sheep dogs whose blood samples were examined using PCR, 12 samples were positive (12.37%) for Borreliosis. The possitive samples consist of 10(10.30%) male and 2 female dogs (2.06%). Complete blood count (C.B.C) was performed for each samplebutHematologic changes in infested samples were not recognizable. In the survey of Borreliaburgdorferiprevalence with SPSS (version 24.0) and by Fischer exact test there was a significant difference between age groups 1-2 years old (P=0.029) and this age group with age group of more than 3 years old (P=0.032)and also there was a significant relation between sex and rate of infection by using chi square method. Conclusion: The results demonstrate that the prevalence of Borreliaburgdorferiis relatively high in dogs from the Isfahan province, Iran.

Keywords:

Borreliaburgdorferi , Dogs , Isfahan , PCR , Iran