1. Survey of selected tick-borne diseases in dogs in Finland
- Author
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Sami Junnikkala, Olli Vapalahti, Thomas Spillmann, Cristina Pérez Vera, Kirsi Aaltonen, Suvi Kapiainen, Equine and Small Animal Medicine, Haartman Institute (-2014), Department of Virology, Departments of Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Biosciences, Veterinary Microbiology and Epidemiology, Clinicum, Viral Zoonosis Research Unit, and Emerging Infections Research Group
- Subjects
Male ,Bartonella ,Anaplasmosis ,Veterinary medicine ,Epidemiology ,Ehrlichia canis ,animal diseases ,education ,610 Medicine & health ,Biology ,BORRELIA-BURGDORFERI ,413 Veterinary science ,BURGDORFERI SENSU-LATO ,Dogs ,Lyme disease ,parasitic diseases ,medicine ,Animals ,Dog Diseases ,Borreliosis ,Borrelia burgdorferi ,Finland ,LIPOPTENA-CERVI ,Tick-borne disease ,Research ,LYME-DISEASE ,IXODES-RICINUS TICKS ,Bacterial Infections ,bacterial infections and mycoses ,medicine.disease ,biology.organism_classification ,Anaplasma phagocytophilum ,PREVALENCE ,Tick Infestations ,3. Good health ,Infectious Diseases ,Parasitology ,INFECTIONS ,Tick-Borne Diseases ,GRANULOCYTIC EHRLICHIA ,ANAPLASMA-PHAGOCYTOPHILUM ,bacteria ,Female ,3111 Biomedicine ,SPP - Abstract
BACKGROUND: Due to climate changes during the last decades, ticks have progressively spread into higher latitudes in northern Europe. Although some tick borne diseases are known to be endemic in Finland, to date there is limited information with regard to the prevalence of these infections in companion animals. We determined the antibody and DNA prevalence of the following organisms in randomly selected client-owned and clinically healthy hunting dogs living in Finland: Ehrlichia canis (Ec), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (Ap), Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) and Bartonella. METHODS: Anti-Ap, -Bb and -Ec antibodies were determined in 340 Finnish pet dogs and 50 healthy hunting dogs using the 4DX Snap(R)Test (IDEXX Laboratories). In addition, PCRs for the detection of Ap and Bartonella DNA were performed. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify risk factors associated with seropositivity to a vector borne agent. RESULTS: The overall seroprevalence was highest for Ap (5.3%), followed by Bb (2.9%), and Ec (0.3%). Seropositivities to Ap and Bb were significantly higher in the Aland Islands (p
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