Molecular Survey of Vector-Borne Pathogens of Dogs and Cats in Two Regions of Saudi Arabia.

Dogs and cats play an important role as reservoirs of vector-borne pathogens, yet reports of canine and feline vector-borne diseases in Saudi Arabia are scarce. Blood samples were collected from 188 free-roaming dogs and cats in Asir (70 dogs and 44 cats) and Riyadh (74 dogs), Saudi Arabia. The presence of spp., spp., hemotropic spp., spp., and spp. was detected using a multiplex tandem real-time PCR. PCR-positive samples were further examined with specific conventional and real-time PCR followed by sequencing. Dogs from Riyadh tested negative for all pathogens, while 46 out of 70 dogs (65.7%) and 17 out of 44 cats (38.6%) from Asir were positive for at least one pathogen. Positive dogs were infected with (57.1%), (30%), (15.7%), and (1.4%), and cats were infected with (13.6%), Mycoplasma haemominutum (13.6%), (9.2%), and (2.27%), all of which are reported for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Co-infection with and was detected in 17 dogs (24.28%), while coinfections were not detected in cats. These results suggest that effective control and public awareness strategies for minimizing infection in animals are necessary.