期刊名称：Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine
印刷版ISSN：1232-1966
电子版ISSN：1898-2263
出版年度：2019
卷号：26
期号：4
页码：1-6
DOI：10.26444/aaem/109664
出版社：Institute of Agricultural Medicine in Lublin
摘要：Introduction and objective. It is easier and non-invasive to obtain faecal samples compared with blood samples. Molecular
techniques may enable detection of parasites even in tiny amounts of blood-containing faeces. We aimed to compare the
sensitivity of detection of three Babesia species and Hepatozoon canis in blood and faecal samples, including samples
derived from naturally infected hosts.
Materials and method. Three groups were involved: 1) Nine BALB/c mice infected with Babesia microti sampled during
acute (n=3), post-acute (n=3) and chronic phases of infection (n=3); 2) Eight dogs with symptoms of babesiosis; 3) Six red
foxes infected with B. vulpes, one fox infected with B. canis, four foxes infected with H. canis. Genomic DNA was extracted
from blood and faeces by use of commercial kits and amplified with genus-specific primers in one-step or nested PCR
reactions. Selected PCR products were sequenced.
Results. No positive results for faecal samples were obtained from H. canis-positive foxes in contrast to Babesia spp.
infections. Positive results from PCRs were obtained for all BALB/c mice (100%), five dogs (62.5%) and four of seven foxes
(57.1%). Successful sequencing was obtained for six selected murine samples (B. microti), four canine samples (B. canis)
and for one fox sample (B. vulpes). The success of B. microti detection in murine faecal samples from acute, post-acute and
chronic phases was identical (100%).
Conclusions. Detectability of Babesia spp. infections was lower in naturally infected dogs and foxes, compared to
experimentally infected mice. Detection of DNA in faecal samples can be useful in the detection of Babesia infection in
populations from which blood samples are hard to obtain, but due regard must be given to the possibility that prevalence
of infection may be severely underestimated.
