PCR and nested-PCR methods were used to assess the frequency of
Babesia bovis and
Babesia bigemina infection in
Boophilus microplus engorged females and eggs and in cattle reared in an area with ...endemic babesiosis. Blood and the engorged female ticks were from 27 naturally infested calves and 25 crossbred cows. The frequency of both
Babesia species was similar in calves and cows (
P>0.05).
Babesia bovis was detected in 23 (85.2%) calves and in 25 (100%) cows and
B. bigemina was detected in 25 (92.6%) calves and in 21 (84%) cows. Mixed infections with the both
Babesia species were identified in 42 animals, 21 in each age category. Of female ticks engorged on calves, 34.9% were negative and single species infection with
B. bigemina (56.2%) was significantly more frequent (
P<0.01) than with
B. bovis (4.7%). Most of the females (60.8%) engorged on cows did not show
Babesia spp. infection and the frequency of single
B. bovis infection (17.6%) was similar (
P>0.05) to the frequency of single
B. bigemina infection (15.9%). Mixed
Babesia infection was lower (
P<0.01) than single species infection in female ticks engorged either in cows (5.7%) or in calves (4.3%). An egg sample from each female was analysed for the presence of
Babesia species. Of the egg samples from female ticks infected with
B. bovis, 26 (47.3%) were infected while from those from female ticks infected with
B. bigemina 141 (76.6%) were infected (
P<0.01). The results showed that although the frequency of both species of
Babesia was similar in calves and cows, the infectivity of
B. bigemina was higher to ticks fed on calves while to those ticks fed on cows the infectivity of both
Babesia species was similar.
Babesiosis, a disease in humans and animals is caused by piroplasms from the genus Babesia and is transmitted by ixodid ticks. Bovine babesiosis, commonly called redwater fever, is reported in cattle ...from many regions of the British Isles. The presence of Babesia in questing ticks in the United Kingdom (UK) and its potential impact on public and animal health has not been widely studied. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the presence of Babesia spp. in England and Wales using ticks collected over a six-year period. Questing Ixodes ricinus nymphs were collected at 20 recreational areas between 2014 and 2019 and screened for Babesia. Of 3912 nymphs tested, Babesia spp. were detected in 15, giving an overall prevalence of 0.38% 95%CI: 0.21-0.63%. A number of Babesia species were identified including B. venatorum (n = 9), B. divergens/capreoli (n = 5) and B. odocoilei-like species (n = 1). Based on the low prevalence of Babesia detected in questing I. ricinus nymphs in the recreational areas studied, the likelihood of exposure to Babesia-infected ticks is lower compared to other pathogens more widely studied in the UK (e.g. Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.). However, localized areas of elevated risk may occur in pockets in England and Wales.
Babesia and Hepatozoon infections of dogs in a village of eastern Sudan were analyzed by using a single PCR and sequencing. Among 78 dogs, 5 were infected with Babesia canis rossi and 2 others were ...infected with B. canis vogeli. Thirty-three dogs were positive for Hepatozoon. Hepatozoon canis was detected by sequence analysis.
Tick-borne haemoparasite infections are a major challenge in small ruminant (SR) production across tropical areas. The present study evaluated the prevalence of Theileria, Babesia and Anaplasma in ...SRs and their tick vectors and estimated the association between pathogen prevalence with clinical hematological findings among SR populations in Kurdistan province, western Iran. In total, 250 blood samples and 250 tick species (one per animal) were collected from SR populations, along with clinical and hematological examinations. Microscopy of blood smears and molecular analysis were performed to detect potential infection with Theileria, Babesia and Anaplasma. Moreover, haemoparasites were explored in the isolated ticks using semi-nested PCR. Based on microscopy, the prevalence of Theileria, Anaplasma and Babesia infections was 91.2%, 23.2% and 2.4%, respectively. Semi-nested PCR analysis of blood samples demonstrated 86.8%, 78.8% and 14% prevalence for T. ovis, A. ovis and B. ovis, respectively. Dermacentor marginatus and Rhipicephalus turanicus were predominant isolated tick vectors from SR, while D. marginatus was the most contaminated tick in all investigated counties. There were, also, a statistically significant association between the estimated molecular prevalence rates with semi-yellow conjunctiva (A. ovis), body temperature (T. ovis and A. ovis), heart rate (T. ovis and B. ovis), mean white blood cell count (T. ovis and A. ovis), mean red blood cell count (T. ovis and B. ovis), as well as mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration in all haemoparasite infections. Future studies are recommended to reveal the epidemiology of such infections in SRs in Iran.
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•Small ruminants and isolated tick vectors were examined regarding haemoparasites.•Only A. ovis, B. ovis and T. ovis were found in Kurdistan province.•Dermacentor marginatus was the most infected tick vector in the area.•There was no evidence of T. lestoquardi and T. luwenshuni.
The causative agent of canine babesiosis is the protozoan Babesia canis, transmitted by the tick Dermacentor reticulatus within France. While the parasite can be found everywhere in France however ...cases of infection are associated with distinct geographical foci. The aim of the study was to evaluate the clinical occurrence of canine babesiosis diagnosed in veterinary clinics in order to propose an updated map of the disease distribution in France.
Questionnaires were sent via email to all canine veterinary clinics in continental France. Information collected included the number of babesiosis cases diagnosed in 2010, the number of veterinary practitioners and the location of the clinic. The total number of dogs and practitioners per administrative department were used to define the reference population. The annual incidence rate of canine babesiosis per department was calculated as the ratio between the number of babesiosis cases reported by the clinics and the total number of dogs in the clinics of the same department. Data were geo-referenced for map construction (Quantum GIS version 1.7.4). The overall annual incidence rate of clinical babesiosis among the surveyed population was 1.07% (CI95 1.05-1.09) with geographical variations between departments, ranging from 0.01% to 16.05%. Four enzootic areas were identified: South-West, Center, East and Paris area. The South-West region should be considered as a hyper-enzootic area with the higher incidence rates.
Our results confirmed the burden of canine babesiosis in France. In the context of tick-borne disease emergence in Europe, the risk for canine babesiosis may become more significant in other European countries in the coming years.
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•Bovine babesiosis is an economically important disease of cattle.•Drugs with high specificity towards the parasite and low toxicity are required.•Artemisone a novel artemisinin ...derivative is effective against apicomplexa parasites.•In vitro, artemisone reduced parasitemia in a dose-dependent manner.•In calves artemisone was well tolerated and prevent development of acute babesiosis.
Artemisone was evaluated, in in vitro and in vivo, for control of bovine babesiosis caused by Babesia bigemina and Babesiabovis parasites. In vitro, artemisone reduced parasitemia in a dose-dependent manner: the inhibitory effects increased gradually, reaching a maximum inhibition of 99.6% and 86.4% for B. bigemina and B. bovis, respectively 72h after initiation of treatment with initial parasitemia of 0.5%. In calves infected with either B. bigemina or B. bovis artemisone treatment was well tolerated and prevented development of acute babesiosis in all animals except for one B. bovis-infected calf. The treatment did not eliminate all blood parasites, and recovered animals carried a persistent low-level infection. Treatment with artemisone may be useful as an alternative drug for preventing the pathology that results from babesiosis, without interfering with acquired immune protection following recovery from an acute babesiosis infection or vaccination.
Ticks (Acari: Ixodida) are vectors and/or reservoirs of many pathogens, i.e.
sensu lato,
and
. These pathogens are ethiological agents of such diseases as Lyme borreliosis, human granulocytic ...anaplasmosis and human babesiosis.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the role of the
s in the transmission of
sensu lato,
sensu stricto,
and
in Opolskie Province in Poland.
DNA from 222 ticks was isolated by the ammonia method. The pair of primers specific to the flagelline gene was used to detect of
s. l. To detect of genospecies of this spirochete, three pairs of internal primers were used. In turn, two pairs of primers specific to the 16S rDNA gene and the 18S rRNA were used, respectively, for the detection of
and
s. l.,
, and
were detected in 4.5%, 2.7% and 5.4% of examined ticks, respectively.
Of the ten ticks infected with
s. l.,
was found in seven, undefinied genospecies in two, and mixed infection with
and
s. s. in one. The study demonstrated the potential risk of exposure of humans and animals to infections of
s. l.,
and
in the examined area of Poland.
Blood specimens were received from five cases in which young adult giraffe, from different geographic origins in South Africa, showed sudden onset of disease and subsequently died. Additional ...specimens from two translocated giraffe, as well as one specimen from a roan antelope, were also included in the study. Blood slides from some of these animals showed the presence of piroplasms. DNA was extracted; the V4 hypervariable region of the 18S rRNA gene amplified and analyzed using the Reverse Line Blot (RLB) hybridization assay. PCR products failed to hybridize with any of the Babesia or Theileria species-specific probes, and only hybridized with the Babesia/Theileria genus-specific probe suggesting the presence of a novel species or variant of a species. Full-length 18S rDNA was amplified, cloned and the recombinants were sequenced. 18S rRNA gene sequence similarity analysis revealed the presence of novel piroplasm species in both healthy giraffe and a roan antelope and clinically sick or dead giraffe. Phylogenetic analysis grouped five of these organisms in the Babesia sensu stricto clade and three in the Theileria sensu stricto clade. Although parasites were observed in blood smears, there is no direct evidence that piroplasmosis caused the death of five giraffe, although it certainly seems to be likely.
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