Babesia microti-like infections are prevalent in North American foxes

Birkenheuer, Adam J.; Horney, Barbara S.; Bailey, Matthew; McBurney, Scott; Sherbert, Brittany; Catto, Victoria; Marr, Henry S.; Camacho, A.T.; Ballman, Anne E.

doi:10.1016/j.vetpar.2010.05.020

Cited by 46 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 10 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Besides, there are reports of infection in a few clinically healthy dogs: one from Tarragona, northeastern Spain [43], another one from Croatia [28] and an additional one from Mississipi [8]. DNA of the B. microti -like piroplasm has also been detected in foxes from central and northern Spain [44-46], eastern Canada, North Carolina in the USA [47], Croatia [48]; in cats from Portugal [49] and Italy [50]; in a donkey from northern Spain [51]; in roe deer from Italy [52]; in feral raccoons from Japan [53]; in Ixodes ricinus and Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks from Italy [54,55]; and in I. ricinus and Ixodes hexagonus from northern Spain [46]. To date, this piroplasm species has not been reported in Africa or Australia.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Babesiosis due to the canine Babesia microti-like small piroplasm in dogs - first report from Portugal and possible vertical transmission

Simões¹,

Cardoso

Araújo³

et al. 2011

Parasites Vectors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundCanine babesiosis (or piroplasmosis) is endemic in northern Portugal, but molecularly confirmed cases of infection with small piroplasms have not been reported in the country. Three German shepherd dogs - a bitch and its 2-month old pup and an unrelated male - clinically suspected of piroplasmosis were assessed for babesial infection.ResultsParasitemia with small piroplasms was detected by microscopy in two dogs. All three dogs were positive by PCR and the Babesia microti-like small piroplasm (syn. Theileria annae) was identified by DNA sequencing. These are the first confirmed cases of babesiosis caused by the B. microti-like piroplasm both in dogs from Portugal and in dogs suspected of clinical piroplasmosis outside of Spain.ConclusionsAlthough the bitch and the male had visited neighboring Galicia (northwestern Spain), where the disease is endemic, incursion of this piroplasm into northern Portugal is evident and infection of the non-traveled pup was due to either vertical transmission or autochthonous tick infection.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Babesiosis due to the canine Babesia microti-like small piroplasm in dogs - first report from Portugal and possible vertical transmission

Simões¹,

Cardoso

Araújo³

et al. 2011

Parasites Vectors

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Parasitemia after worm infection was identified by microscopic visualization of thin smears of tail blood stained with Wright-Giemsa stain (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany). To confirm B. microti infection, we performed the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay designed to amplify a 229-bp segment of B. microti -specific 18S ribosomal ribonucleic acid genes (5′-CTG CCT TAT CAT TAA TTT CGC ACG-3′ and 5′-ATG CCC CCA ACC GTT CCT ATT A-3′) as described previously with minor modifications [18]. Total DNA was extracted form 100 µl of whole blood using a commercially available kit (QIAamp DNA blood mini kit, Qiagen, Valencia, CA, USA) and used as the template for each PCR amplification.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Babesia microti , an intraerythrocytic protozoan of the genus Babesia , is a common parasite of wild rodents and a major cause of the emerging human disease babesiosis, an asymptomatic malaria-like disease [16], [17], [18]. Human infection by B. microti often occurs in diverse regions of North America and Europe, and is increasingly recognized as a health problem [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Induction of IL-10-Producing CD1dhighCD5+ Regulatory B Cells following Babesia microti-Infection

Jeong¹,

Hong²,

Cho³

et al. 2012

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundUnderstanding the induction of immune regulatory cells upon helminth infection is important for understanding the control of autoimmunity and allergic inflammation in helminth infection. Babesia microti, an intraerythrocytic protozoan of the genus Babesia, is a major cause of the emerging human disease babesiosis, an asymptomatic malaria-like disease. We examined the influence of acute B. microti infection on the development of regulatory B cells together with regulatory T cells.Principal FindingsOur data demonstrate that B cells stimulated in vitro with B. microti produce interleukin (IL)-10. This cytokine is also secreted by B cells isolated from B. microti-infected mice in response to lipopolysaccharide stimulation. In addition, high levels of IL-10 were detected in the serum of mice after infection with B. microti. The frequency of IL-10-producing CD1dhighCD5+ regulatory B cells (Bregs) and CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T cells increased during the course of B. microti infection. Furthermore, adoptive transfer of IL-10-producing B cells induced by B. microti infection led to increased susceptibility of recipient mice to infection with B. microti. In contrast, experiments with B cell-deficient (µMT) mice demonstrated that lack of B cells enhances susceptibility to B. microti infection.ConclusionsThis study is the first demonstration of the expansion of Bregs following infection by an intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite. These data suggest that B. microti infection in mice provides an excellent model for studying Breg-mediated immune responses and begins to elucidate the mechanism by which helminth infection regulates autoimmunity and allergic inflammation.

show abstract

“…B. microti or B. microti -like infection has been observed in other widespread mammalian species of the eastern Unites States, such as short-tailed shrews [30], eastern cottontail rabbits, eastern chipmunks [31], raccoons [32], and foxes [33]. In Korea, B. microti infection has been reported in wild raccoon dogs [7] and small wild mammals [12].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Serological and Molecular Detection of Toxoplasma gondii and Babesia microti in the Blood of Rescued Wild Animals in Gangwon-do (Province), Korea

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Infections of Toxoplasma gondii and Babesia microti are reported in many wild animals worldwide, but information on their incidence and molecular detection in Korean wild fields is limited. In this study, the prevalence of T. gondii and B. microti infection in blood samples of 5 animal species (37 Chinese water deer, 23 raccoon dogs, 6 roe deer, 1 wild boar, and 3 Eurasian badgers) was examined during 2008–2009 in Gangwon-do (Province), the Republic of Korea (=Korea) by using serological and molecular tests. The overall seropositivity of T. gondii was 8.6% (6/70); 10.8% in Chinese water deer, 4.3% in raccoon dogs, and 16.7% in roe deer. PCR revealed only 1 case of T. gondii infection in Chinese water deer, and phylogenic analysis showed that the positive isolate was practically identical to the highly pathogenetic strain type I. In B. microti PCR, the positive rate was 5.7% (4/70), including 2 Chinese water deer and 2 Eurasian badgers. Phylogenetic analysis results of 18S rRNA and the β-tubulin gene showed that all positive isolates were US-type B. microti. To our knowledge, this is the first report of B. microti detected in Chinese water deer and Eurasian badger from Korea. These results indicate a potentially high prevalence of T. gondii and B. microti in wild animals of Gangwon-do, Korea. Furthermore, Chinese water deer might act as a reservoir for parasite infections of domestic animals.

show abstract

Babesia microti-like infections are prevalent in North American foxes

Cited by 46 publications

References 10 publications

Babesiosis due to the canine Babesia microti-like small piroplasm in dogs - first report from Portugal and possible vertical transmission

Babesiosis due to the canine Babesia microti-like small piroplasm in dogs - first report from Portugal and possible vertical transmission

Induction of IL-10-Producing CD1dhighCD5+ Regulatory B Cells following Babesia microti-Infection

Serological and Molecular Detection of Toxoplasma gondii and Babesia microti in the Blood of Rescued Wild Animals in Gangwon-do (Province), Korea

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About