First Report on Molecular Diagnosis and Phylogenetic Analysis of Hepatozoon canis in Naturally Infected Domesticated and Stray Dogs from Jhang, Pakistan

Canine diseases, particularly caused by tick-borne hepatozoons are responsible for high morbidity and mortality and are the reason for attracting significant focus. The current study was aimed to survey the occurrence of H. canis in domesticated and stray dogs of Jhang city (Punjab) with its molecular identification. For this, blood samples from 300 dogs (n=200 domesticated; n=100 stray) were collected and assayed through PCR for the detection of H. canis supported by sequencing analysis. The results demonstrated, 15.66% (47/300) of samples positive for H. canis. A significantly (P