Molecular prevalence and risk factors for Babesia vogeli in dogs from rural areas of northern coastal Peru.

Babesia spp. are tick-borne protozoan parasites, and several species can infect domestic dogs. In northern Peru, epidemiological data on canine Babesia species are scarce despite the widespread distribution of its tick vector Rhipicephalus spp. in this tropical region. The aim of this study was to determine the molecular prevalence of Babesia spp. in dogs from three rural settlements in Tumbes Province of the northern coast of Peru and to identify potential risk factors for PCR positivity among nine variables (sex, age, geographic origin, housing type, breed, coat length, presence of ticks, tick control, and lethargy). DNA was extracted from 227 canine blood samples using a commercial kit and analyzed by conventional PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia spp. Overall, 17 of 227 dogs (7.49%, CI95%: 4.4-11.5) tested positive, and Sanger sequencing confirmed that all the positive samples have 100% similarity to B. vogeli. By multivariate logistic regression, age and housing type were identified as significant risk factors for being positive: dogs younger than 12 months had a 5.13-fold higher risk compared with dogs aged 13 to 24 months (CI95%: 1.14-22.98, p = 0.033), and a 25-fold higher risk compared with dogs aged >48 months or older (CI95%: 3.57-500, p = 0.005), as well as outdoor dogs had a 6.95-fold higher risk of infection (CI95%: 1.32-36.53, p = 0.022) compared to indoor dogs. Moreover, no significant associations were observed between the other evaluated variables and B. vogeli positivity. These findings confirm the 7.49% prevalence of Babesia vogeli in dogs from rural areas of Tumbes Province and highlight that those young dogs (< 12 months) and those with outdoor housing are the groups at greatest risk of being B. vogeli positive by conventional PCR.