Skip to main content Advertisement Search Log in Search SpringerLink Search Original Paper Published: 08 October 2021 Prevalence and Molecular Identification of Trypanosomes in Dogs in Enugu North Senatorial Zone, South East Nigeria Chukwunonso Francis Obi   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-6997-77071, Ikenna Onyema Ezeh1, Michael Ikenna Okpala1, Onyinye Agina2, Paschal Ugochukwu Umeakuana3, Gabriella Ama Amoakoma Essuman4,5, Theresa Manful Gwira4,5 & Romanus Chukwuduruo Ezeokonkwo1  Acta Parasitologica (2021)Cite this article 34 Accesses 1 Altmetric Metrics details Abstract Purpose Dogs are of immense social, psychological and economic importance in Nigeria and are severely affected by African trypanosomosis. However, the prevalence of canine African trypanosomosis (CAT) in Nigeria is underreported and the identification of the parasites relies mostly on basic morphological characteristics under the microscope, which could be misleading. The present study was carried out to determine the prevalence and characterize trypanosomes isolated from dogs in South east Nigeria. Methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out to determine the prevalence and molecular identification of trypanosomes in dogs in Enugu North Senatorial Zone (ENSZ), South east Nigeria. Dogs (n = 450) were randomly sampled, their blood collected and some characteristics such as sex, breed, sampling location, season and age duly noted. The blood samples were screened for trypanosomosis using standard trypanosome detection techniques. Trypanosome-positive blood samples were spotted on FTA® cards for molecular identification using nested Tubulin-PCR, ITS-PCR, TgsGP-PCR, and DNA sequencing. Some hematological parameters of the dogs such as packed cell volume (PCV), total leucocyte count (TLC), red blood cell count (RBC) were also determined. Results Of the 450 dogs sampled, 51 dogs were positive for trypanosomes with a prevalence rate of 11.3% (95% CI = 0.087–0.146). Trypanosoma brucei was the predominant trypanosome species infecting dogs in the study area. T. congolense, T. evansi, and T. vivax were also identified. The prevalence of canine trypanosomosis was significantly associated with season (χ2 = 13.821, df = 1, P = 0.0001) and the sampling location (χ2 = 6.900, df = 2, P = 0.032) while sex, breed, and age were not. The PCV and RBC of the infected dogs were significantly lower (p < 0.0001) than those of the uninfected dogs. Conclusions CAT due to T. brucei is very prevalent in Enugu North Senatorial Zone, South east Nigeria and is associated with hematological changes. Our study also detected T. vivax in dogs in South east Nigeria which appears to be the first report of T. vivax in a dog in Nigeria. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution. 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Author information Affiliations Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria Chukwunonso Francis Obi, Ikenna Onyema Ezeh, Michael Ikenna Okpala & Romanus Chukwuduruo Ezeokonkwo Department of Veterinary Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria Onyinye Agina Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Abuja, Abuja, Nigeria Paschal Ugochukwu Umeakuana West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana Gabriella Ama Amoakoma Essuman & Theresa Manful Gwira Department of Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana Gabriella Ama Amoakoma Essuman & Theresa Manful Gwira Authors Chukwunonso Francis Obi View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Ikenna Onyema Ezeh View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Michael Ikenna Okpala View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Onyinye Agina View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Paschal Ugochukwu Umeakuana View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Gabriella Ama Amoakoma Essuman View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Theresa Manful Gwira View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Romanus Chukwuduruo Ezeokonkwo View author publications You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar Contributions RCE and CFO conceived the research. RCE, TMG, and CFO designed the research. CFO, IOE, IMO, OA, and PUU conducted the field experiments. TMG and GAAE conducted the molecular experiments. CFO and TMG analyzed data. CFO wrote the manuscript. IOE, TMG, and RCE reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the manuscript. Corresponding author Correspondence to Chukwunonso Francis Obi. Ethics declarations Conflict of Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interest. Ethical Approval The University of Nigeria, national and international guidelines for the ethical care and use of laboratory animals were fully adhered to. Also, ethical clearance (FVM-UNN-IACUC-2019-0919) was gotten from the University of Nigeria Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Consent to Participate Informed consent of the dog owners and sellers was duly sought for and obtained. Consent for Publication Not applicable. Additional information Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and permissions Reprints and Permissions About this article Cite this article Obi, C.F., Ezeh, I.O., Okpala, M.I. et al. Prevalence and Molecular Identification of Trypanosomes in Dogs in Enugu North Senatorial Zone, South East Nigeria. Acta Parasit. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-021-00475-4 Download citation Received: 29 June 2021 Accepted: 22 September 2021 Published: 08 October 2021 DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-021-00475-4 Share this article Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: Get shareable link Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article. Copy to clipboard Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative Keywords Prevalence Molecular identification Canine African trypanosomosis Trypanosomes Dogs South east Nigeria Access options Buy single article Instant access to the full article PDF. 34,95 € Price includes VAT (Ghana) Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout. Rent this article via DeepDyve. 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