Babesiosis

Abstract

Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease caused by protozoa of the genus Babesia. Several species of Babesia have been associated with disease in domestic animals, including Babesia bovis and B. bigemina in cattle, B. caballi in horses, and B. canis, B. vogeli, and B. rossi in dogs. Some species (e.g., B. divergens, B. microti, B. venatorum, and B. duncani) may also infect and cause diseases in humans. The infectivity and pathogenicity of each Babesia species may vary widely. For instance, B. vogeli is less pathogenic than other species that affect dogs, such as B. canis and B. rossi. The diagnosis of babesiosis relies on suggestive clinical signs (e.g., fever, lethargy, and jaundice) and laboratory abnormalities (e.g., anemia and thrombocytopenia) and should be ideally confirmed by cytology or molecular biology techniques. The treatment of animal babesiosis is usually carried out with drugs like imidocarb dipropionate and diminazene diaceturate, whereas for humans, different drug combinations may be used. While vaccines have been licensed for preventing babesiosis in some animal species (e.g., cattle and dogs), the control and prevention of the disease is primarily based on tick control.