Prevalence of camel babesiosis in southeast of Iran

Abstract

Babesiosis is a globally distributed zoonotic parasitic disease in a broad range of vertebrates with great importance in the veterinary field. The standard diagnostic test for Babesiosis in animals is microscopic identification of the parasite in a venous blood smear stained with Giemsa combined with assessment of clinical manifestations throughout the acute phase of the disease. The present study was planned to determine the presence of Babesia species in camels from the southeastern regions of Iran. A total of 140 blood samples of camels were randomly collected in four selected cities including Qaen, Nehbandan, Iranshahr, and Zahedan from March to August 2019.Blood smears of each case were also examined by the Giemsa staining method and extracted DNA samples were subjected to internal transcribed spacers (ITS1) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. The prevalence rates using microscopically and molecular examinations were 10% and 19.28%, respectively. The prevalence rates significantly vary between the selected regions (p = 0.003). PCR technique showed higher sensitivity than microscopy. We found that all infected camels were positive for Babesia caballi. The rate of infection with Babesia among the camel in Zahedan is remarkable. Early diagnosis and early treatment can prevent further spread of the disease in this area.

Molecular detection of Babesia microti in dromedary camels in Egypt

“…Babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne zoonotic infectious disease of veterinary and medical importance and became a nationally notifiable disease in 2011 in the USA (CDC 2012 ; Motevalli Haghi et al 2014 ). Babesiosis is caused by apicomplexan intraerythrocytic parasites of the genus Babesia ; they are transmitted to vertebrates (ruminants, dogs, cats, birds, rodents, and humans) by ticks (Kalani et al 2012 ; Mirahmadi et al 2022 ). This disease can also be transmitted by blood transfusion, organ donation, and even congenitally (Herwaldt et al 2011 ; Vannier and Krause 2012 ).…”

“…Babesiosis in camels causes anemia, fever, icterus, hemoglobinuria, and gastrointestinal stasis; pathogenicity varies according to Babesia species (Swelum et al 2014 ). Factors that contribute to the increased risk of babesiosis include the importation of camels from areas with high infection rates and the spreading of vector ticks (Mirahmadi et al 2022 ). Recent research by Salman et al ( 2022 ) suggests that camels in Egypt are infected with novel Babesia species, where they are able to detect Babesia sp.…”

Cross-sectional analysis of Piroplasma species-infecting camel (Camelus dromedaries) in Egypt using a multipronged molecular diagnostic approach

“…Piroplasmosis in camel is understudied and known to be caused by hemoparasites, such as Theileria (T.) equi, Babesia (B.) caballi (6)(7)(8)(9), Babesia bovis, Babesia bigemina (3,10), and Theileria camelensis (11). However, the taxonomic status of T. camelensis remains unclear due to a lack of studies involving experimental infections and molecular characterization (12).…”

“…Previous studies addressing camel piroplasmosis were mostly based on the identification of piroplasmid species using microscopical examination or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) without performing sequencing and phylogenetic analysis (6)(7)(8)(9)(10)16). However, the single use of microscopical examination for identifying piroplasm lacks specificity and can be prone to false negative results, especially in carrier animals with low parasitemia.…”