Wild carnivores are important hosts for ixodid ticks and presumed reservoirs for several tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) of medical and veterinary importance. However, little is known about the role that the European grey wolf (Canis lupus) plays in the enzootic cycle of TBPs. The recent recolonization of Central European lowland, including some regions in Germany, by the grey wolf, opened up an excellent opportunity for studying the impact of the wolf population on pathogen diversity and transmission dynamics. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated spleen samples collected from 276 grey wolves in 11 federal states in Germany for common TBPs by molecular methods. In total, 127 grey wolves (46.0 %) were found to be positive for Hepatozoon canis. Only two genetic variants of this protozoan parasite (herein designated as G1 and G2) were found to circulate among the grey wolves, which can be potentially shared between populations of domestic and other wild carnivores in the country. Two grey wolves were positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum (0.7 %), and both were co-infected with H. canis G1 genotype. The presence of other pathogens could not be confirmed by PCR and sequencing. This study represents the first one reporting H. canis in a grey wolf population worldwide, and it provides highly relevant information, which may contribute to a better understanding of the epidemiology of TBPs and the pathogen transmission dynamics among the reintroduced population of grey wolves and other carnivores.

野生食肉动物是虱的重要寄主，也是一些具有医学和兽医学意义的tick传播病原体（TBP）的重要宿主。然而，人们对欧洲灰狼（犬天狼疮）在TBPs的生化周期中所起的作用知之甚少。灰狼最近对中欧低地，包括德国的某些地区进行了殖民化，为研究狼群对病原体多样性和传播动态的影响提供了绝佳的机会。因此，在本研究中，我们通过分子方法研究了从德国11个联邦州的276头灰狼收集的脾脏样本中常见的TBP。总共发现127头灰狼（46.0％）对犬肝炎呈阳性。仅发现该原生动物寄生虫的两种遗传变异（在本文中称为G1和G2）在灰狼之间传播，这些灰狼可能在该国的家养和其他野生食肉动物种群之间共享。两只灰狼的吞噬性无浆细胞阳性（0.7％），并且都与犬H. G1基因型共同感染。其他病原体的存在不能通过PCR和测序确认。这项研究代表了全球灰狼种群中首例报告H. canis的犬，它提供了高度相关的信息，这可能有助于更好地了解TBPs的流行病学以及灰狼和其他灰狼重新引入种群之间的病原体传播动态食肉动物。