Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Babesia lengau causing brain and blood infection in two cats
By Anna-Marì Bosman et al.·Published in Parasites & Vectors·2013·View original on Semantic Scholar →
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Original publication title: Babesia lengau associated with cerebral and haemolytic babesiosis in two domestic cats
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Two domestic cats were brought in with severe symptoms, including high fever and signs of severe illness, and unfortunately, both had to be euthanized due to their critical condition. They were found to have a type of blood infection called babesiosis, caused by the parasite Babesia lengau, which is not commonly associated with cats. One cat also had confirmed hemolytic anemia, where the body destroys its own red blood cells. This case highlights that not all cases of feline babesiosis are caused by the more common Babesia felis, indicating that other strains like Babesia lengau can also lead to serious health issues in cats.
People also search for: cat fever symptoms · babesiosis in cats · cat hemolytic anemia treatment
Abstract
BackgroundAlthough reported sporadically from various countries, feline babesiosis appears to be a significant clinical entity only in South Africa, where Babesia felis is usually incriminated as the causative agent. Babesia lengau, recently described from asymptomatic cheetahs, has now possibly been incriminated as the causative agent in two severe clinical cases in domestic cats.FindingsBoth cats were euthanised in extremis. While typical feline babesiosis in South Africa is an afebrile disease with a chronic manifestation, there was acute onset of severe clinical signs in both cats and their body temperatures were above the normal range when they were presented for treatment. Haemolytic anaemia was confirmed in one case. To our knowledge, this is the first report of cerebral babesiosis in cats.On reverse line blot 18S rDNA PCR products obtained from both cats showed positive hybridization profiles with the B. lengau species-specific probe. The two partial parasite 18S rRNA gene sequences obtained, showed high sequence similarity (99.9%) to B. lengau. In a representative tree constructed by the neighbor-joining method using the two-parameter model of Kimura the two obtained partial 18S rDNA sequences and that of B. lengau formed a monophyletic group with B. conradae and sequences previously isolated from humans and wildlife in the western USA.ConclusionAll clinical cases of feline babesiosis in South Africa are not necessarily caused by B. felis. Other piroplasms, e.g. B. lengau, may be incriminated in clinical cases, especially those occurring outside the known endemic area.
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Search related cases →Original publication on Semantic Scholar: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/23634743