Babesia spp. infection in dogs from rural areas of São Paulo State, Brazil

Abstract

The status of Babesia spp. infection in dogs from rural areas of São Paulo State, Brazil was studied. For this, 150 animals were examined by blood smears and by PCR; the presence of tick infestation was also investigated. By the blood smear examination, 3 animals (2%) were detected positive and by PCR for Babesia spp. 12 (8%) were positive, with bands visualized in 450 bp. Rhipicephalus sanguineus or Amblyomma spp. were found on 36 (24%) of the 150 dogs. Amblyomma species found were A. cajennense (9/36-25%) and A. ovale (9/36-25%

Babesia infection in naturally exposed pet dogs from a north-eastern state (Assam) of India: detection by microscopy and polymerase chain reaction

“…So 17.12 % cases remained false negative to Babesia during microscopy. Higher detection of Babesia in PCR compared to microscopy as observed in the present study was also reported by several authors (Birkenheuer et al 2003;Gotsch et al 2009;O'Dwyer et al 2009). The prevalence pattern of this two species recorded in the present study was found similar to those microscopic and serologic findings reported by other workers (Bansal et al 1985;Varshney et al 2003;Senthil Kumar et al 2009).…”

“…Using PIRO-A1 and PIRO-B primers Foldvari et al (2005) reported Babesia DNA having 99.8 or 100 % similarity with B. canis canis in sequencing. On the contrary O'Dwyer et al (2009) using the same sets of primers reported PCR products 100 % identical to B. canis vogeli. Although no attempt was made in the present study to characterize B. canis at the subspecies level, in view of detection of R. sanguineus ticks in the body of suspected dogs during the present investigation, it is suggested that B. canis might belong to B. canis vogeli.…”

“…Scrutiny of the results of microscopy and PCR analysis of individual blood sample in the present study revealed that out of 39, 5 microscopic positive B. gibsoni cases remained negative in PCR and the false positivity was 12.82 %. Confirming the vector specific geographic distribution (Uilenberg et al 1989;Zahler et al 1998) of the subspecies of B. canis, several workers reported significant association of Dermacentor reticulatus with B. canis canis prevalent in Europe (Caccio et al 2002;Porchet et al 2007;Zygner et al 2008;Welc-Faleciak et al 2009) and Rhipicephalus sanguineus with B. canis vogeli in tropical and subtropical countries (O'Dwyer et al 2009;Gotsch et al 2009). Using PIRO-A1 and PIRO-B primers Foldvari et al (2005) reported Babesia DNA having 99.8 or 100 % similarity with B. canis canis in sequencing.…”

Severe Anemia Caused by Babesiosis in a Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus)

“…Babesiosis has previously been found in captive maned wolves in South America 5 and in other canid species, such as the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and has been experimentally induced in coyotes (Canis latrans). 3,7,11 Transmission of Babesia species is typically through the bite of a tick vector; however, other forms of hematogenous horizontal and vertical transmission may be possible. 8 Once inside a new host, the protozoa enters the red blood cell.…”

“…Canine babesiosis has been documented in domestic dog populations and in captive maned wolves in Brazil. 4,5,11 Wild and captive populations of maned wolves that live in proximity to domestic dogs may be at risk for Babesia infection. Surveillance of infectious diseases in captive and wild maned wolf populations should be expanded to include screening for Babesia species.…”