Department of Biomedical and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, United States of America.
J S Afr Vet Assoc. 2021 Apr 29;92(0):e1-e4. doi: 10.4102/jsava.v92i0.2096.
Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) may serve as a reservoir or a sentinel for infectious disease pathogens that can affect human and wildlife health. To understand the role of tick-borne diseases in rural and lesser developed regions, we investigated the prevalence of several tick-borne pathogens in communal dogs of Zimbabwe. Blood samples from 225 dogs in northwest Zimbabwe were assessed by serology for Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi, and 241 samples were assessed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Ehrlichia. There was a high seroprevalence (73%) of E. canis-specific antibodies in domestic dogs in northwest Zimbabwe, but follow up analyses via PCR and genetic sequencing indicated only 7.5% of the canines were actively infected with the organism. Whilst indicating that an organism serologically related to E. canis is likely present in the region, this data also shows that the organism is currently present in a relative minority of the domestic dogs in the region. Its presence as evidenced by both serologic and PCR analysis is significant because of the 'one health' paradigm, where humans and wildlife may be affected by the exposure to this pathogen in domestic dogs.
家犬（Canis familiaris）可能是传染病病原体的储存库或哨兵，这些病原体可能影响人类和野生动物的健康。为了了解农村和欠发达地区蜱传疾病的情况，我们调查了津巴布韦社区犬中几种蜱传病原体的流行情况。对津巴布韦西北部的 225 只狗的血清样本进行了犬埃立克体、嗜吞噬细胞无形体和伯氏疏螺旋体的血清学检测，对 241 份样本进行了聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测犬埃立克体。西北津巴布韦的家养犬中，E. canis 特异性抗体的血清阳性率很高（73%），但通过 PCR 和基因测序的后续分析表明，只有 7.5%的犬实际上感染了该病原体。虽然这表明该地区可能存在一种与 E. canis 血清学相关的病原体，但这一数据也表明，目前该病原体在该地区的家养犬中只存在于相对少数犬中。鉴于“同一健康”模式，该病原体的存在无论是通过血清学还是 PCR 分析都很重要，因为人类和野生动物可能会因接触家养犬中的这种病原体而受到影响。
