Case Report of a Fatal Babesia vulpes Infection in a Splenectomised Dog

Unterköfler, Maria Sophia; Pantchev, Nikola; Bergfeld, Carina; Wülfing, Katrin; Globokar, Majda; Reinecke, Astrid; Fuehrer, Hans‐Peter; Leschnik, Michael

doi:10.3390/parasitologia3010008

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Studies are generally in the form of case reports. In this way, it has been reported in countries such as Canada [ 59 ], Spain [ 60 ], and Russia [ 61 ]. In North America, 9098 dogs were examined and B. vulpes was detected in only 0.52% of them [ 58 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

First Molecular Evidence of Babesia vogeli, Babesia vulpes, and Theileria ovis in Dogs from Kyrgyzstan

et al. 2023

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Tick-borne parasitic diseases cause mild to severe infections among vertebrate hosts, including dogs. Species in the genus Babesia are important tick-borne pathogens and have worldwide distributions. Although there are data on the prevalence and distribution of Babesia species among dogs around the world, there is no information available in Kyrgyzstan, according to a literature review. In this study, 337 dogs were screened by nested PCR for the presence of the 18S small subunit ribosomal RNA (18S SSU rRNA) gene of piroplasm species. Overall prevalence was 6.23% (21/337) for Babesia/Theileria spp. DNA sequencing of positively tested samples revealed that eighteen samples were infected with Babesia vogeli (B. vogeli) (5.34%), two samples with B. vulpes (0.59%), and one sample with Theileria ovis (T. ovis) (0.29%). The phylogenetic analyses and nucleotide sequences in contrast with those present in GenBank revealed that two nucleotide substitutions (594th and 627th) were found between B. vogeli isolates, including ours, indicating that the mutation is relatively rare. The sequences of other pathogens obtained in this study confirmed 100% nucleotide identity with B. vulpes and T. ovis sequences in GenBank. To the best of our knowledge, B. vogeli, B. vulpes, and T. ovis were detected for the first time in dogs from Kyrgyzstan, and it is thought that results will contribute to the understanding of the epidemiology of canine tick-borne pathogens in the country.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

First Molecular Evidence of Babesia vogeli, Babesia vulpes, and Theileria ovis in Dogs from Kyrgyzstan

et al. 2023

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“…Indeed, due to the extensive time spent within sylvatic areas, hunting dogs show a higher prevalence of tick-borne pathogens compared to companion dogs ( 42 ). An example includes B. vulpes ( 43 ), capable to cause severe ( 4 , 44 ) or fatal disease in dogs ( 45 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First molecular detection of Babesia vulpes and Babesia capreoli in wild boars from southern Italy

Sgroi,

D’Alessio,

Auriemma

et al. 2023

Front. Vet. Sci.

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IntroductionFollowing the increase of wild boar (Sus scrofa) populations in Europe, a potential risk of emerging infections by vector-borne pathogens may occur. Despite this, the circulation of piroplasmid species in these ungulates is still a neglected topic, particularly in the Mediterranean basin. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the presence of Babesia/Theileria spp. in wild boars from southern Italy to assess the epidemiological role of these ungulates in the circulation of piroplasmids.MethodsBy using a citizen science approach among hunters and veterinarians, wild boar spleen samples were collected in the Campania region (southern Italy) between 2016 and 2022. A combined semi-nested PCR/sequencing analysis targeting the V4 hyper-variable region of 18S rRNA was run to detect Babesia/Theileria spp. DNA.ResultsOut of 243 boars, 15 (i.e., 6.2, 95% CI: 3.4–9.9) tested positive to Babesia/Theileria spp., Babesia vulpes (n = 13, 5.3, 95% CI: 3.1–8.9) the most prevalent, followed by Babesia capreoli (n = 2, 0.8, 95% CI: 0.2–2.9). Three different B. vulpes sequence types were identified (i.e., ST1, ST2, ST3), with the most representative as ST1 (60%), and a single B. capreoli sequence type. No statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) were found between the presence of the pathogens and boar age, sex, province and sample collection year.DiscussionData demonstrate for the first time the occurrence of B. vulpes and B. capreoli in wild boars, which may play a role in the biological cycle of piroplasmids. We emphasize the importance of monitoring these ungulates to prevent potential foci of infection. The engagement of hunters in epidemiological scientifically based surveys can constitute a technically sound control strategy of piroplasmids in a One Health perspective.

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Case Report of a Fatal Babesia vulpes Infection in a Splenectomised Dog

Cited by 2 publications

References 49 publications

First Molecular Evidence of Babesia vogeli, Babesia vulpes, and Theileria ovis in Dogs from Kyrgyzstan

First Molecular Evidence of Babesia vogeli, Babesia vulpes, and Theileria ovis in Dogs from Kyrgyzstan

First molecular detection of Babesia vulpes and Babesia capreoli in wild boars from southern Italy

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