Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Antiprotozoal drugs used to treat canine babesiosis
By Baneth, Gad·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2018·Koret School of Veterinary Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Antiprotozoal treatment of canine babesiosis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with a tick-borne disease called babesiosis was treated with various medications to eliminate the parasites causing the illness. While some larger Babesia species responded well to common treatments like imidocarb dipropionate and diminazene aceturate, smaller species like Babesia gibsoni required a different approach, using a combination of atovaquone and azithromycin. For resistant strains, a mix of clindamycin, diminazene aceturate, and imidocarb dipropionate proved effective. Ongoing research is needed to discover new treatments for this condition, as some dogs may still carry the parasites even after treatment.
People also search for: dog babesiosis treatment · tick disease in dogs · Babesia gibsoni medication
Abstract
Canine babesiosis is a tick-borne disease caused by several Babesia spp. which have different susceptebility to anti-protozoal drugs. A few drugs and drug combinations are used in the treatment of canine babesiosis often without complete parasite elimination leaving treated dogs as carriers which could relapse with clinical disease and also transmit infection further. Although the large form canine babesial species Babesia canis, Babesia vogeli and Babesia rossi are sensitive to the aromatic diamidines imidocarb dipropionate and diminazene aceturate, small form species such as Babesia gibsoni, Babesia conradae and Babesia vulpes (Theileria annae) are relatively resistant to these drugs and are treated with the combination of the hydroxynaphthoquinone atovaquone and the antibiotic azithromycin. Azithromycin and other antibiotics that have anti-protozoal properties target the apicoplast, a relict plastid found in protozoa, and exert a delayed death effect. The triple combination of clindamycin, diminazene aceturate and imidocarb dipropionate is also effective against B. gibsoni and used to treat atovaquone-resistant strains of this species. Novel drugs and the synergistic effects of drug combinations against Babesia infection should be explored further to find new treatments for canine babesiosis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29657012/