Prevalence and First Molecular Characterization of Ehrlichia canis in Egyptian dogs

Abstract

Canine Ehrlichiosis is caused by Ehrlichia canis, an obligate intracellular bacterium. In Egypt, the epidemiology data about Ehrlichia canis is very limited and the molecular characterization of the organism has not been identified. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to study the prevalence of E. canis among 400 examined Egyptian dogs based on PCR assay and subsequently analyze the results by the logistic regression model. Furthermore, the molecular characterization of the Egyptian strain of E. canis was investigated. Generally, the prevalence of E. canis among dogs was 9.7%. The age, veterinary care, tick infestation, and antiparasitic treatment have a significant effect on the prevalence of E. canis in dogs as the prevalence rate was higher in older dogs (11.8%) and heavily infested dogs with ticks (10.3%) but lower in dogs received veterinary care (7.5%) and antiparasitic treatment (4.2%). In contrast, the sex, breed, and health status of dogs showed no significant role in the infection with E. canis. Sequence analysis of 16S rRNA for the Egyptian strain of E. canis revealed 100% identity with that of the American strain of E. canis and represented in one clade as obtained with a phylogenetic tree. The present study is the first study on molecular characterization of the Egyptian strain of E. canis, according to our knowledge