Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Detecting red blood cell antibodies in dogs with Babesia canis
By Carli, E et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2009·Laboratorio d'Analisi Veterinarie "San Marco" Via Sorio, Italy·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Detection of erythrocyte binding IgM and IgG by flow cytometry in sick dogs with Babesia canis canis or Babesia canis vogeli infection.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 30 sick dogs diagnosed with Babesia canis canis or Babesia canis vogeli infections were studied to understand their immune response. Most dogs infected with Babesia canis canis had severe anemia, while those with Babesia canis vogeli showed a different type of anemia that was more responsive. Interestingly, the majority of the Babesia canis vogeli infected dogs had antibodies that attached to their red blood cells, which was not seen in the Babesia canis canis infected dogs. This suggests that the immune response differs between the two types of infections, which could help vets in diagnosing and treating these conditions more effectively.
People also search for: dog anemia treatment · Babesia canis symptoms in dogs · dog blood test for Babesia infection
Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine by means of flow cytometry immunophenotyping (FCI) if sick dogs infected with Babesia canis canis (B. c. canis) or Babesia canis vogeli (B. c. vogeli) had anti-erythrocyte membrane binding IgG and/or IgM at the time of diagnosis. Diagnosis of Babesia infection was assessed by blood smear and by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in 30 sick dogs. Signalment, clinical history, physical examination and laboratory tests of B. c. canis (n=24) and of B. c. vogeli (n=6) infected dogs were studied. The majority of B. c. canis infected dogs showed anemia (92%) predominantly non-regenerative (94%), while the B. c. vogeli infected dogs had a regenerative anemia (67%). Eccentrocytosis was present in 33% of the B. c. canis infections. Four of six B. c. vogeli infected dogs had erythrocytes membrane antibodies. One dog resulted uncertain and one resulted negative to FCI. In contrast, all the B. c. canis infected dogs were negative for erythrocytes membrane binding immunoglobulins detection. In addition, the mean percentages of erythrocytes binding IgG and IgM were statistically much lower in B. c. canis than in B. c. vogeli infected dogs. At the time of the diagnosis, the formation of erythrocyte membrane binding IgG and IgM by immune mechanisms appears not to be involved in B. c. canis infections while it is present in the majority of B. c. vogeli infections.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19269745/