Detection of Pentatrichomonas hominis in dogs using real-time PCR.
Trichomonadidae family is a protozoan occurring in different animal species. It inhabits the gastrointestinal and urinary tracts. P. hominis is rarely found in faecal samples of dogs, and its identification and differentiation from other trichomonads by light microscopy are difficult. Methods of molecular biology are the most effective in this case, because they confirm the presence of the specific species in animal organisms, irrespective of the protozoan form. The aim of this study was to find P. hominis in selected dog kennels in North-Eastern Poland. Forty-one faecal samples of dogs from 7 dog kennels were examined. The occurrence of P. hominis in 5 faecal samples of dogs with no symptoms of diarrhoea was the first one to be confirmed in Poland.