First molecular detection of Canine Hemoplasmas in Sivas province in central part of Turkey

Canine hemoplasmas are vector-borne bacterial pathogens having worldwide distribution. There are twohemoplasmas species that cause disease in dogs. These are Mycoplasma haemocanis and Candidatus Mycoplasmahaematoparvum. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of canine hemoplasmas among apparentlyhealthy 194 owned-dogs in Sivas Province using species-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR). According toour results, the overall prevalence of canine hemoplasmas was 14.94% (29/194). The molecular prevalence of M.haemocanis and Ca. M. haematoparvum was detected as 8.24% (16/194) and 10.82% (21/194) respectively whilethe prevalence of co-infections was 4.12% (8/194). In this study, Ca. M. haematoparvum which can infect humanswas found more prevalent than M. haemocanis. To the best of our knowledge, it is the first molecular study on thedetermination of canine hemoplasmas in Sivas province in Turkey.