Hamel Dietmar, Shukullari Enstela, Rapti Dhimitër, Silaghi Cornelia, Pfister Kurt, Rehbein Steffen
Kathrinenhof Research Center, Merial GmbH, 03101 Rohrdorf-Lauterbach, Rohrdorf, Germany.
Institute of Comparative Tropical Medicine and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany.
Parasitol Res. 2016 Feb;115(2):489-99. doi: 10.1007/s00436-015-4765-8. Epub 2015 Oct 10.
Knowledge on the epidemiology of parasitic and vector-borne infections is still very limited for Albania, a country located in the Balkan Peninsula in southeast Europe. Recent publications indicated prevalence rates of up to 52% for vector-borne infections in less-cared dogs in Albania. To provide data on the epidemiological situation in dogs under veterinary care, a total of 602 client-owned dogs presented to four small animal clinics between March 2010 and April 2011 in Tirana, Albania, were screened by examination of Giemsa-stained blood smears, PCR, and serological methods for the presence of arthropod-borne infections, as well as Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii. Eight different pathogens, namely Babesia vogeli, Hepatozoon canis, Leishmania infantum, Dirofilaria immitis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Anaplasma platys, Ehrlichia canis, and Mycoplasma haemocanis, were detected by direct methods with prevalence rates ranging from 1 to 9%. Seroprevalence for Babesia spp., L. infantum, Anaplasma spp., and E. canis were 6.6, 5.1, 24.1, and 20.8%, respectively. Dogs >1 year of age were positive for vector-borne infections significantly more often than younger dogs (p = 0.003). More than half (51.7%) of the dogs were seroreactive to T. gondii and 18.3% to N. caninum. This is the first report on the detection of A. phagocytophilum, A. platys, E. canis, and M. haemocanis by PCR as well as the serological confirmation of exposure of dogs to N. caninum and T. gondii in Albania. The spectrum of pathogens and the seroprevalences for N. caninum and T. gondii in client-owned dogs from Tirana, Albania, are comparable to that reported in other countries in the Mediterranean Basin. The prevalence rates of vector-borne pathogens are at the lower range of that reported in studies from this geographical region. This is probably due to increased awareness of the owners of pet dogs, including better husbandry conditions and ectoparasiticidal treatment, thus limiting exposure of dogs to vectors.
对于位于欧洲东南部巴尔干半岛的阿尔巴尼亚来说，有关寄生虫和媒介传播感染的流行病学知识仍然非常有限。最近的出版物表明，阿尔巴尼亚受照料较少的犬类中媒介传播感染的患病率高达52%。为了提供接受兽医护理的犬类的流行病学情况数据，2010年3月至2011年4月期间，在阿尔巴尼亚地拉那的四家小动物诊所对总共602只客户拥有的犬只进行了检查，通过吉姆萨染色血涂片、聚合酶链反应（PCR）和血清学方法检测是否存在节肢动物传播感染以及犬新孢子虫和刚地弓形虫。通过直接方法检测到八种不同的病原体，即伯氏巴贝斯虫、犬肝簇虫、婴儿利什曼原虫、犬恶丝虫、嗜吞噬细胞无形体、血小板无形体、犬埃立克体和犬血支原体，患病率在1%至9%之间。巴贝斯虫属、婴儿利什曼原虫、无形体属和犬埃立克体的血清阳性率分别为6.6%、5.1%、24.1%和20.8%。1岁以上的犬只感染媒介传播感染的阳性率明显高于幼犬（p = 0.003）。超过一半（51.7%）的犬只对刚地弓形虫血清反应呈阳性，18.3%对犬新孢子虫血清反应呈阳性。这是阿尔巴尼亚首次通过PCR检测到嗜吞噬细胞无形体、血小板无形体、犬埃立克体和犬血支原体，以及对犬只接触犬新孢子虫和刚地弓形虫进行血清学确认。来自阿尔巴尼亚地拉那的客户拥有犬只中病原体谱以及犬新孢子虫和刚地弓形虫的血清阳性率与地中海盆地其他国家报告的情况相当。媒介传播病原体的患病率处于该地理区域研究报告的较低范围。这可能是由于宠物狗主人的意识提高，包括更好的饲养条件和体外寄生虫治疗，从而限制了犬只接触媒介。
