Molecular methods were used to identify blood parasites frequently observed in blood smears of water pythons (Liasis fuscus) captured in our study area in the Northern Territory of Australia. A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using primers amplifying the 18s ribosomal RNA (rRNA) nuclear gene resulted in a short PCR product (180 bp) matching this region in the genus Hepatozoon. However, b...

Tick-borne diseases are often encountered in canine clinical practice. In the present study, a molecular epidemiological survey of dogs in Japan was conducted to understand the prevalence and geographical distribution of Babesia spp., Hepatozoon spp., Ehrlichia spp. and Anaplasma spp. Pathogen-derived DNA in blood samples obtained from 722 dogs with a history of exposure to ticks and/or fleas w...

Canine hepatozoonosis is a growing tick-borne disease in Punjab. Two canine hepatozoonosis cases, one clinical and one subclinical, in Punjab were analyzed by PCR targeting 18S rRNA gene (666 bp). After sequence analysis of the PCR products, both of them were found almost identical to each other and were closely related to the Hepatozoon canis strain found in Saint kitts and Nevis and Brazil wi...

Ticks, sera and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) blood were collected from dogs evaluated at the Amakom Veterinary Clinic in Kumasi, Ghana. Sera were evaluated for Dirofilaria immitis antigen and antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Ehrlichia canis. Conventional polymerase chain reaction assays designed to amplify the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) of Ehrlic...

The objective of this study was to conduct a preliminary survey of diseases that might be present in the wild Nile crocodile population in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Blood samples were collected from crocodiles ranging in size from 34.0 cm to 463.0 cm total length. Samples were examined for blood parasites and underwent a haematological analysis. Before release the crocodiles were examined f...

Two experimental trials were performed to elucidate the role of rodents in the life cycle of Hepatozoon species using snakes as intermediate hosts. In one trial, two ball pythons, Python regius Shaw, 1802 were force fed livers of laboratory mice previously inoculated with sporocysts of Hepatozoon ayorgbor Sloboda, Kamler, Bulantová, Votýpka et Modrý, 2007. Transmission was successful in these e...

Since South Africa boasts a high biodiversity of frog species, a multispecies haemoparasite survey was conducted by screening the blood from 29 species and 436 individual frogs. Frogs were collected at three localities in sub-tropical KwaZulu-Natal, a hotspot for frog diversity. Twenty per cent of the frogs were infected with at least one of five groups of parasites recorded. Intraerythrocytic ...

Hepatozoon canis was molecularly identified in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Twelve dogs from urban areas were studied by blood smear examination and the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. From these dogs, only 1 was positive in both blood smears and PCR.