Determinación de la presencia de Ehrlichia canis en caninos mediante la técnica de PCR.

Abstract

Canine Ehrlichiosis or Canine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (CMD) is a tick-borne disease that affects both wild and domestic canines. Its etiological agent is Ehrlichia canis, a Rickettsia belonging to the Anaplasmataceae family. This multisystemic disease affects all canines regardless of race, age, or sex, and in most cases, it can be fatal. It is transmitted by the vector Rhipicephalus sanguineus, a soft tick belonging to the Ixodidae family that is usually found in warm or tropical climates distributed around the world. The present work was carried out by collecting blood samples obtained from 33 patients from different veterinary clinics in the cities of Cúcuta and Pamplona, Norte de Santander. These presented associated symptoms or suspicion of CME or had a positive or negative immunochromatography test and/or presence of ticks. Initially, the DNA extraction of each one of the samples was carried out using the phenol-chloroform method, upon DNA quantification an average of 20 ng/ul was obtained. For the PCR assembly, the subsequently described ECC and ECB primers were used and the PCR conditions were adapted in the laboratory, obtaining a 500 bp amplification in 28 of the samples studied and 5 negative samples. This work constitutes the first molecular diagnostic approach to E. canis in CEDIMOL and will be the basis for subsequent studies.