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.
Babesiosis (piroplasmosis) is a zoonotic disease caused by an intraerythrocytic protozoan transmitted by
Ixodes
ticks. The aim of this study was to detect
Babesia
spp. infection using molecular ...methods in 377 blood samples from anemic patients. Sequence analysis showed that the 18S rRNA gene was 439 bases long by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and that the PCR products from the samples had an identical sequence (named Taian China, HM355854). BLAST search showed that the sequence was identical to the 18S rRNA sequences of
Babesia divergens
. The 18S rRNA sequence for
Toxoplasma gondii
was included as the outlier for phylogenetic analysis by using the program MEGA4.0 software. The results showed that the 18S rRNA gene sequences obtained from the present study was most closely related to
B. divergens
Switzerland (DQ312439) with 98.4% similarity (differing only by seven bases). The phylogenetic analysis also revealed that this sequence closely resembled
B. divergens
strains from other countries and belonged to the same clade. This is the first report of a human being infected by
B. divergens
in China.
In Europe, canine babesiosis is most frequently caused by Babesia canis and Babesia vogeli, and occasionally by Babesia gibsoni.. In Germany, B. canis is recognized as endemic. The aims of this study ...were to assess how often Babesia spp. infections were diagnosed in a commercial laboratory in samples from dogs from Germany, and to evaluate potential risk factors for infection. The database of the LABOKLIN laboratory was screened for Babesia spp.-positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for dogs for the period January 2007-December 2020. Sequencing was performed for positive tests from 2018 and 2019. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the effects of sex, season, and year of testing. Questionnaires were sent to the submitting veterinarians to obtain information on travel abroad, tick infestation, and ectoparasite prophylaxis of the respective dogs. Fisher's exact test was used to calculate statistical significance and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. In total, 659 out of 20,914 dogs (3.2%) tested positive for Babesia spp. by PCR. Of 172 sequenced samples, B. canis was identified in 156, B. vogeli in nine, B. gibsoni in five, and B. vulpes in two. Season had a statistically significant impact on test results when summer/winter (1.6% tested positive) was compared to spring/autumn (4.7%), with peaks in April (5.2%) and October (7.4%) P < 0.001, odds ratio (OR) = 3.16. Sex (male 3.5%, female 2.8%; P = 0.012, OR = 1.49) and age (< 7 years old 4.0%, greater than or equal to 7 years old 2.3%; P < 0.001, OR = 1.76) of the tested dogs also had a statistically significant effect. A statistically significant impact was demonstrated for observed tick attachment (P < 0.001, OR = 7.62) and lack of ectoparasite prophylaxis (P = 0.001, OR = 3.03). The frequency of positive Babesia spp. tests did not significantly differ between the 659 dogs that had never left Germany and the 1506 dogs with known stays abroad (P = 0.088). The possibility of canine infection with B. canis needs to be especially taken into consideration in spring and autumn in Germany as the activity of the tick Dermacentor reticulatus, a potential vector for canine babesiosis, is highest in these seasons. Travel and importation of dogs are considered major factors associated with canine babesiosis in Germany. However, autochthonous Babesia spp. infections also occur in a considerable number of dogs in Germany.
Tick-borne diseases are a constraint to livestock production in many developing countries as they cause high morbidity and mortality, which results in decreased production of meat, milk and other ...livestock by-products. The most important tick-borne diseases of livestock in sub-Saharan Africa are East Coast fever (caused by Theileria parva), babesiosis (caused by Babesia bigemina and B. bovis), anaplasmosis (caused by Anaplasma marginale) and heartwater (caused by Ehrlichia ruminantium). Despite their economic importance, information on the epidemiology of these diseases in many countries, including Zambia, is often inadequate, making rational disease control strategies difficult to implement. In this study 18S and 16S rRNA gene PCR assays were used for a comprehensive epidemiological analysis of tick-borne disease of cattle in three provinces of Zambia (Lusaka, Central and Eastern). All the disease pathogens under study (T. parva, T. mutans, T. taurotragi, B. bovis, B. bigemina, Anaplasma spp and E. ruminantium) were prevalent in each of the provinces surveyed. However, variation was observed in prevalence between regions and seasons. There was no association between live vaccination against East Coast fever and being PCR positive for T. parva. A number of risk factors were shown to be associated with (a) the occurrence of tick-borne pathogens in cattle and (b) cattle tick burdens in the wet season. A negative association was observed between the number of co-infecting pathogens and the erythrocyte packed cell volume (PCV) of carrier cattle.
Babesiosis is a zoonosis caused by tick-transmitted intraerythrocytic protozoa of the Phylum Apicomplexa. The disease mostly occurs in the USA, but cases have also been reported in several European ...countries, in Egypt, India, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and South Africa. The main pathological event is lysis of erythrocytes resulting in haemolytic anaemia, which in severe cases may lead to organ failure and death, particularly in immunocompromised patients. The 2 groups of parasites involved, Babesia microti-like and Babesia sensu stricto (s.s.) species, differ in their life cycle characteristics and susceptibility to antibabesial drugs. Molecular taxonomy is now making a major contribution to the identification of novel pathogens within both groups. Effective treatment of severe cases was initially hampered by the lack of specific antibabesial drugs for human use, but increased use of supportive measures and of the recently developed antimalarial, atovaquone, particularly in combination with azithromycin, has improved the prospects for management of acute disease especially when caused by Babesia s.s. species. Prevention should be based primarily on increasing the awareness of physicians and the public to the risks, but infection from blood transfusions is particularly difficult to prevent. Expanding deer populations, resulting in wider distribution and greater abundance of ticks, heightened medical awareness, and growing numbers of immunocompromised patients are likely to result in a continuing rise of reported cases.
BACKGROUND: It is known that Anaplasma (A.) platys, the causative agent of infectious canine cyclic thrombocytopenia, is endemic in countries of the Mediterranean basin. However, few reports are ...available from the Balkans. This case report describes a dog, which was imported from Croatia to Germany in May 2010. One month later the dog was presented to a local veterinarian in Germany due to intermittent/recurrent diarrhoea. Diagnostic tests were performed to identify infections caused by Anaplasma spp., Ehrlichia spp., Hepatozoon canis, Babesia spp., Leishmania spp., Borrelia burgdorferi and/or Dirofilaria immitis. FINDINGS: Haematological examination of a blood smear revealed basophilic inclusions in thrombocytes, which were confirmed as A. platys with a species-specific real-time PCR. Additionally, an infection with Babesia (B.) vogeli was also detected (PCR and serology). No specific antibodies against Anaplasma antigen were detectable. Although the dog showed no specific clinical signs, thrombocytopenia, anaemia and elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) were observed. Sequencing of a 1,348-bp partial ribosomal RNA gene revealed highest homology to A. platys sequences from Thailand, Japan and France. CONCLUSIONS: A. platys was detected for first time in a dog imported from Croatia. As the dog was also co-infected by B. vogeli, unique serological and haematological findings were recorded. Thrombocytopenia, anaemia and elevated values of C-reactive protein were the laboratory test abnormalities observed in this case. A. platys infections should be considered in dogs coming from Croatia and adjacent regions.
Medically important ixodid ticks often carry multiple pathogens, with individual ticks frequently coinfected and capable of transmitting multiple infections to hosts, including humans. Acquisition of ...multiple zoonotic pathogens by immature blacklegged ticks (
) is facilitated when they feed on small mammals, which are the most competent reservoir hosts for
(which causes anaplasmosis in humans),
(babesiosis) and
(Lyme disease). Here, we used data from a large-scale, long-term experiment to ask whether patterns of single and multiple infections in questing nymphal
ticks from residential neighbourhoods differed from those predicted by independent assortment of pathogens, and whether patterns of coinfection were affected by residential application of commercial acaricidal products. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used for pathogen detection in multiplex reactions. In control neighbourhoods and those treated with a fungus-based biopesticide deployed against host-seeking ticks (Met52), ticks having only single infections of either
or
were significantly less common than expected, whereas coinfections with these 2 pathogens were significantly more common. However, use of tick control system bait boxes, which kill ticks attempting to feed on small mammals, eliminated the bias towards coinfection. Although aimed at reducing the abundance of host-seeking ticks, control methods directed at ticks attached to small mammals may influence human exposure to coinfected ticks and the probability of exposure to multiple tick-borne infections.
•Severe babesiosis caused by Babesia divergens in a host with an intact spleen in Russia.•There was heavy multiple invasion, of up to 14 parasites, inside the erythrocyte.•The piroplasm 18S rRNA ...sequence from our patient was identical B. divergens EU lineage.
We report a case of severe babesiosis caused by the bovine pathogen Babesia divergens with the development of multisystem failure in a splenic host. Immunosuppression other than splenectomy can also predispose people to B. divergens. There was heavy multiple invasion of up to 14 parasites inside the erythrocyte, which had not been previously observed even in asplenic hosts. The piroplasm 18S rRNA sequence from our patient was identical B. divergens EU lineage with identity 99.5–100%.
A 70-year-old female from southern Massachusetts, USA, was admitted to the intensive care unit with septic shock and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after 3 days of acute febrile illness. ...She had undergone splenectomy at the age of 5 related to trauma from a traffic accident. Laboratory studies reveled pancytopenia, acute renal insufficiency, increased lactate dehydrogenase, depressed haptoglobin, and elevated liver enzymes with indirect hyperbilirubinemia. Prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were both elevated and fibrinogen level was low, consistent with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). A direct anti-globulin test was negative. A thin blood smear with oil immersion showed intraerythrocytic polymorphic ring forms (Figure 1, arrows) morphologically consistent with Babesia species and the presence of Howell-Jolly bodies (Figure 1, arrowhead), confirming the history of splenectomy. Real-time DNA-PCR confirmed Babesia microti as the offending parasite. The patient was started on treatment for babesiosis with quinine, azithromycin, and atovaquone. She also received red cell exchange transfusion due to the high level of parasitemia (14% of the erythrocytes) and completely recovered in the next few weeks.
Babesia bovis causes a pathogenic form of babesiosis in cattle. Following invasion of red blood cells (RBCs) the parasite extensively modifies host cell structural and mechanical properties via the ...export of numerous proteins. Despite their crucial role in virulence and pathogenesis, such proteins have not been comprehensively characterized in B. bovis. Here we describe the surface biotinylation of infected RBCs (iRBCs), followed by proteomic analysis. We describe a multigene family (mtm) that encodes predicted multi-transmembrane integral membrane proteins which are exported and expressed on the surface of iRBCs. One mtm gene was downregulated in blasticidin-S (BS) resistant parasites, suggesting an association with BS uptake. Induced knockdown of a novel exported protein encoded by BBOV_III004280, named VESA export-associated protein (BbVEAP), resulted in a decreased growth rate, reduced RBC surface ridge numbers, mis-localized VESA1, and abrogated cytoadhesion to endothelial cells, suggesting that BbVEAP is a novel virulence factor for B. bovis.
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