Tehran University of Medical Sciences Journal of Arthropod-Borne Diseases 2322-1984 15 1 2021 03 31 97 107 Majid Khanmohammadi Department of Laboratory Sciences, Marand Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marand, Iran Reza Zolfaghari-Emameh Department of Energy and Environmental Biotechnology, Division of Industrial and Environmental Biotechnology, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (NIGEB), Tehran, Iran Mehdi Arshadi Al-Zahra Hospital, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Elham Razmjou Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Poorya Karimi Department of Medical Parasitology and Mycology, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran 2021 05 05 Background: Canine babesiosis is one of the mainly worldwide-distributed tick-borne haemoprotozoan parasitic dis­eases in dogs. Methods: A total of 43 blood samples were randomly collected from naturally infected dogs in seven villages from different geographical areas of Meshkin Shahr, Ardabil Province, Iran. The presence of Babesia species detected with standard methods including parasitological and gene sequencing techniques targeting the 18S rRNA gene. Results: Our results revealed that four dogs 9.3% (4/43) including one female and three male dogs were infected with Babesia. All four Babesia-infected dogs were confirmed B. canis by the molecular-based method. Sequence alignments comparison of the B. canis genotypes A and B, it was revealed that all B. canis isolates belonged to genotype B. Conclusion: This study provides essential data for subsequently define the critical importance of the molecular studies in management and prevention of the canine babesiosis in Iran. https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/view/1443 https://jad.tums.ac.ir/index.php/jad/article/download/1443/531