151. Serological update and molecular characterization of Dirofilaria immitis in dogs, South Korea
- Author
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Sun-Kyung Lee, Da Hye Lee, Hyun-Jin Shin, Kyung-Bin Song, and Jung-Eun Park
- Subjects
Male ,Veterinary medicine ,Aging ,Guanine ,Sequence analysis ,Dirofilaria immitis ,Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ,Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ,Serology ,Dogs ,RNA, Transfer ,Dirofilariasis ,RNA, Ribosomal, 16S ,Republic of Korea ,medicine ,Prevalence ,Helminths ,Animals ,Dog Diseases ,General Veterinary ,biology ,Adenine ,Ribosomal RNA ,biology.organism_classification ,16S ribosomal RNA ,medicine.disease ,Molecular biology ,Exact test ,Female - Abstract
Eighty-one dogs in the Chungnam province were tested for heartworm ( Dirofilaria immitis ) infection by ELISA (SNAP test, IDEXX Laboratories, Maine, USA). Seventeen (20.9%) of the 81 samples were found to be positive and further analyzed by 16S rRNA sequencing. In this study, all dogs tested lived outdoors. Using the χ 2 test and Fisher’s exact test, no significant differences in the prevalence of dirofilariasis were observed among different gender and age groups, although the prevalence of this disease among dogs 2–4 yrs of age remains highest. Sequence analysis revealed that the species prevalent in Chungnam province were genetically distinct from the type strain of D . immitis based on the nucleotide deletion found at position nt 276 (cytosine) and nucleotide substitution at position 428 (G to A) of the partial 16S rRNA sequence of the type strain. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis suggests at least 2 groups of D . immitis circulating in the Chungnam area between the year 2007 and 2008.
- Published
- 2009