Molecular characterization of infection in canine.

BACKGROUND

Canine leishmaniasis is an infectious protozoan disease transmitted by sand fly bites. The parasite infects the macrophages of vertebrates during the amastigote stage.

AIM

This study aimed to detect the causative species for infections between dogs with in Iraq and to determine the relationship between isolates that infect Iraqi animals and other animals worldwide.

METHODS

Fifty dogs of various breeds, ranging from 1 month to 7 years old of both sexes. Then, blood samples were collected from the cephalic vein into an EDTA tube; DNA was extracted using a commercial kit. Afterward, conventional PCR was performed using universal primers to detect 18S in .

RESULTS

Most dog infections were caused by . The age of the infected dogs ranged from a few months to 7 years. Our results indicate that most infections with spp. occurred between older males and younger females. Most dogs were asymptomatic, and a small percentage exhibited clinical signs, such as skin lesions, rough coats, hair loss, and onychogryphosis. To confirm the results and gain insight into the origin of the positive isolates, 10 samples were sequenced. Interestingly, isolates were typical of those recorded in Brazil, France, and the USA, except for one isolate, which was slightly different from the detected isolates. Therefore, our results showed that most infections were between older males rather than younger females, and the DNA sequencing results indicated that only 1 isolate out of 10 had a different demographic origin.

CONCLUSION

Dogs in this study were infected mainly with without any clinical signs; most isolates resemble those recorded in Brazil, France, and the USA.