Detecção molecular e alterações hematológicas de amostras de cães naturalmente infectados por Babesia vogeli na região metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro

The canine babesiosis has a worldwide distribution, its one of the most important tick-borne disease. It is endemic in Brazil, where the prevalence is increasing in several areas. Typically, anemia and thrombocytopenia are found in dogs with babesiosis, such as hematological changes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the piroplasms prevalence and hematologic changes in dogs at Small Animals Veterinary Hospital of Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), through the amplification of the 18S rRNA gene using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and genetic description using sequencing. Blood samples of 250 dogs were randomly selected. From all samples, nine (3.6%) were positive for Babesia spp. using conventional PCR. The sequencing was performed on products from PCR and the positives samples were identified as Babesia vogeli. The main hematological alterations were anemia (66.7%) and thrombocytopenia (89%). The piroplasm that most affect dogs in the region is Babesia vogeli and it can develop anemia and thrombocytopenia.