Autochthonous Babesia canis infections in 49 dogs in Germany

Abstract

Background: Vector-borne diseases are of increasing importance in Germany. Since 2015, autochthonous cases have been increasingly documented in Berlin/ Brandenburg.Objectives: Describe autochthonous Babesia canis infection in the Berlin/ Brandenburg region.Animals: Forty-nine dogs with autochthonous B. canis infection.Methods: Evaluation of history, clinical signs, laboratory abnormalities, treatment, and outcome.Results: Dogs were presented between March and August (9) and September and January (40) in the years 2015-2021. Historical and clinical findings were lethargy (100%), pale mucous membranes (63%), fever (50%), and pigmenturia (52%). Common clinicopathological findings were thrombocytopenia (100%), anemia (85%), intravascular hemolysis (52%), pancytopenia (41%), and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS; 37%). Babesia detection was based on blood smear evaluation (n = 40) and PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene of piroplasms (n = 49). Sequencing indicated 99.47% to 100% identity to B. canis sequences from GenBank. All dogs were treated with imidocarb (2.4-6.3 mg/kg; median, 5 mg/kg); 8 dogs received 1, 35 received 2, and 1 dog each received 3, 4, or 5 injections, respectively. Continued PCR-positive results were detected in 7 dogs after the 1st, in 5 after the 2nd, in 2 after the 3rd, and in 1 28 days after the 4th injection. Four dogs were euthanized and 3 dogs died.

Molecular detection of Babesia spp. in dogs in Germany (2007–2020) and identification of potential risk factors for infection

“…Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and Bavaria [ 8 – 13 , 19 ]. An outbreak of autochthonous B. canis infections in the federal states of Berlin and Brandenburg in northeastern Germany, with the majority of clinical cases presenting between September and November, was recently reported [ 42 ]. These results fit well with our data regarding the seasonality of positive Babesia spp.…”

The Diverse Pathogenicity of Various Babesia Parasite Species That Infect Dogs

“…Seen in 63/63 cases from Hungary, in 49/49 cases from Germany and 50/50 cases from Croatia [8,30,40]. Anorexia was described in 76% of dogs (23/30) and depression in 93% (28/30) in an Italian study [38] and in 43/50 (86%) cases from Croatia [40].…”

“…Italian dogs developed pyrexia [38] Anemia Over a third of 320 dogs were severely anemic (hematocrit < 15%, requiring blood transfusions), a quarter were moderately so, and just under a quarter were mildly anemic. A small proportion of cases had normal hematocrits at presentation [7] A significantly proportion of dogs reported with mild to moderate anemia and a very small proportion of these were treated with blood transfusions [8,30,38,[46][47][48].…”

“…Anemia is reported but appears to be a feature of the infection in puppies (where it described as hemolytic and severe) or in immunocompromised rather than immunocompetent adult dogs (where the infections is usually subclinical or reported as a co-infection) [38,42,52,53]. at presentation [7] Reported to be common with macroscopically visible hemoglobin in urine and/or blood in >2/3rds of cases [8], in 24/49 dogs [30] and in 63% of 63 cases [8] Evidence of hemolysis is reported but in a small percentage of cases [49] Not reported/unknown Hemolysis is reported in 11 cases [38]…”

Klimawandel und vektorübertragene Infektionen in EuropaTeil 2: Zeckenübertragene Infektionen

“…Die Erkrankung kommt infolge der Ausbreitung des Vektors zunehmend auch in Zentraleuropa vor. Seit 2015 werden häufiger autochthone Fälle aus Deutschland gemeldet [53]. Der Erreger des Omsker hämorrhagischen Fiebers (OHFV, ein Flavivirus aus dem TBE-Komplex) wird über Zeckenstiche oder durch Kontakt mit den Ausscheidungen von Bisamratten übertragen und wurde bisher nur in 4 Regionen Westsibiriens nachgewiesen [54].…”