PREVALENCE OF CANINE TICK-BORNE PROTOZOA ASSOCIATED WITH HEMATOLOGY IN DHAKA CITY

Abstract

Dogs, being companion animals serve a variety of economic, social, and cultural purposes. Among the diseases of dogs, tick-borne protozoa are drawing attention globally for both human and animals. The aim of this study was to observe the prevalence of tick-borne protozoan infections as well as some selective hematological parameters of stray dogs in Dhaka city. A total number of 160 dogs from various places in the study area were selected randomly and examined for both tick and protozoan infection. Only one species of hard tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus was identified where 49 (30.62%) among the study population were found to be infested with this tick. There were differences in tick burdens in two seasons with higher infestation levels in Summer (37.50%) followed by Winter (26.92%). Ticks ranging from 1-16 were removed from dogs where most of the ticks were collected from the neck and chest region (P <0.001). On the other hand, examinations of blood smear confirmed three protozoan species (Babesia canis, Babesia gibsoni, and Hepatozoon spp.) comprising 23.13% of the overall prevalence. Among the protozoan species, B. canis (11.88%) was the most prevalent protozoa. Subsequently, only 10.81% of the infected samples showed multiple infections. In both cases, females were more infected than males. Among the hematological parameters, the RBC counts, Hemoglobin, and PCV of all infected dogs were significantly lower (P <0.001) compared to the healthy group. Moreover, the eosinophil of the infected groups showed higher values (11.00 % and 12.70% for protozoa and ticks, respectively) than the normal range indicating parasitic infections. Therefore, these results suggest the necessity of frequent blood examinations to enhance animals’ welfare and disease prevention.