BACKGROUND Ticks and tick-borne diseases are increasingly recognized as a cause of disease in dogs worldwide. The epidemiology of ticks and tick-transmitted protozoa and bacteria has changed due to the spread of ticks to urban and peri-urban areas and the movement of infected animals, posing new risks for animals and humans. This countrywide study reports information on distribution and prevalence of pathogens in ticks collected from privately-owned dogs in Italy. We analyzed 2681 Ixodidae ticks, collected from 1454 pet dogs from Italy. Specific PCR protocols were used to detect i) Piroplasms of the genera Babesia and Theileria, ii) Gram-negative cocci of the family Anaplasmataceae and iii) Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Sequencing of positive amplicons allowed for species identification. RESULTS Babesia/Theileria spp. DNA was detected in 435 homogeneous tick-pools (Minimum Infection Rate (MIR) = 27.6%; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 25.4-29.8%) with higher prevalence in Ixodes ricinus and Rhipicephalus sanguneus group. The zoonotic B. venatorum was the most prevalent species (MIR = 7.5%; 95% CI = 6.3-9.0%). Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species were detected in 165 tick-pools (MIR = 10.5%; 95% CI = 9.3-11.8%) and specifically, A. phagocytophilum was identified with MIR = 5.1% (95% CI = 4.1-6.3%). Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. and B. afzelii were detected with MIR = 0.4% (95% CI = 0.2-0.8%) and MIR = 0.3% (95% CI 0.1-0.7%) respectively. CONCLUSIONS Zoonotic pathogens B. venatorum and A. phagocytophilum were the most frequently detected in ticks collected from privately-owned dogs which might be used as markers of pathogens presence and distribution.

中文翻译：

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从意大利的私家狗收集的I科s中的-传播病原体：一项全国性的分子调查。

背景技术壁虱和壁虱传播的疾病在世界范围内的犬中越来越被认为是引起疾病的原因。of和and传播的原生动物和细菌的流行病学已经发生变化，这是由于tick传播到城市和城市周边地区以及受感染动物的活动，这给动物和人类带来了新的风险。这项全国性研究报告了从意大利私家狗收集的tick中病原体分布和流行情况的信息。我们分析了从意大利的1454只宠物狗收集的2681个I科x。使用特定的PCR方案检测i）巴贝虫和Theileria属的质体，ii）Anaplasmataceae科的革兰氏阴性球菌，以及iii）Borsenlia burgdorferi sensu lato。阳性扩增子的测序可用于物种鉴定。结果巴贝斯虫/泰勒虫属。在435个同质tick池中检测到DNA（最小感染率（MIR）= 27.6％； 95％置信区间（CI）= 25.4-29.8％），在x虫和Rhipicephalus sanguneus组中患病率较高。人畜共通的B. venatorum是最流行的物种（MIR = 7.5％； 95％CI = 6.3-9.0％）。在165个滴答池中检出了无形体和衣原体种（MIR = 10.5％; 95％CI = 9.3-11.8％），特别是，吞噬嗜酸曲霉菌的MIR = 5.1％（95％CI = 4.1-6.3％）。分别检测到伯氏疏螺旋体（Borrelia burgdorferi sl）和非洲双歧杆菌（B. afzelii）的MIR = 0.4％（95％CI = 0.2-0.8％）和MIR = 0.3％（95％CI 0.1-0.7％）。结论人畜共患病原体B. venatorum和A. phagocytophilum是在从私家狗收集的tick中检出的最频繁的动物，可被用作病原体存在和分布的标记。