Kafkas Üniversitesi Veteriner Fakültesi Dergisi 2024 , Vol 30 , Issue 1
Detection of Babesia bigemina Cases in Dogs in Rural Areas/Türkiye by Molecular Methods
Ozcan OZKAN1, Banucicek YUCESAN2, Yusuf YILMAZ3, Zekeriya OCAL
1Cankiri Karatekin University, Faculty of Science, Biology Department, TR-18200 Çankırı - TÜRKİYE
2Cankiri Karatekin University, Faculty of Health Science, Control of Zoonotic Health Diseases Department, TR-18200 Çankırı - TÜRKİYE
3Republic of Türkiye, Ministry of Health, Public Health General Directorate of Türkiye, Microbiology Reference Laboratories and Biological Products Department, TR-06430 Ankara - TÜRKİYE
4Cankiri Municipality, Cankiri Municipality Animal Care and Rehabilitation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment Department, TR-18200 Çankırı - TÜRKİYE
DOI : 10.9775/kvfd.2023.30356 Babesiosis, a very important vector disease, has also been detected in humans and animals. This study was carried out on 120 whole blood samples taken from Cankiri Municipality Animal Care and Rehabilitation Center (Türkiye) between December 2021 and 2022 in Cankiri. In this study, venous blood samples taken by a veterinarian were used for diagnosis. The 18S rRNA gene region was examined with conventional PCR analysis and the positive results were subjected to sequence analysis. As a result of sequence analysis, these positive cases were determined to be Babesia bigemina. Additionally, as a result of statistical analysis, it was found that dogs detected positive for B. bigemina did not give significant results according to age, gender or symptoms. B. bigemina detected in this study were registered in the NCBI database with 7 (Acc no: OQ186727), 12 (Acc no: OQ186720), 19 (Acc no: OQ186721), 21 (Acc no: OQ186722), 23 (Acc no: OQ18723), 28 (Acc no: OQ186724), 30 (Acc no: OQ186725), and 70 (Acc no: OQ186726) numbers. The B. bigemina species detected in dogs in this study is actually seen in farm animals. This study is the first detection report of B. bigemina in dogs in Turkey. As a result, Babesia species seen in dogs need to be reconsidered and investigated with the development of molecular techniques. Keywords : Babesia, Babesia bigemina, Babesiosis, Dog