Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Babesia canis infection found in dogs in Bosnia and Herzegovina
By Ćoralić, Agnesa et al.·Published in Ticks and tick-borne diseases·2018·Internal Diseases Department·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: First molecular detection of Babesia canis in dogs from Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs in Bosnia and Herzegovina showed signs of illness, including extreme tiredness, loss of appetite, and fever, due to a tick-borne infection called Babesia canis. Out of 80 dogs tested, a staggering 82.5% were found to have this infection, which can lead to serious health issues like anemia and low platelet counts. The study highlighted that many of these dogs had not received tick prevention treatments, suggesting that better tick control could help reduce infections. Treatment for Babesia typically involves medications that target the parasites, and early detection is crucial for recovery.
People also search for: dog fever and lethargy · Babesia canis treatment · tick prevention for dogs in Bosnia · symptoms of tick-borne diseases in dogs
Abstract
Babesia spp. are tick-transmitted protozoan haemoparasites of great economic, veterinary and medical impact worldwide. Herein we reported the very high prevalence of autochthonous babesiosis in symptomatic dogs from Bosnia and Herzegovina in the period from 2014 to 2016. Eighty dogs that did not leave the country were examined using parasitological and molecular analyses and babesiosis was diagnosed in 82.5% and 85.0% of them, respectively (p < 0.001). One species, Babesia canis was identified using molecular methodology (PCR and sequence analysis). Statistical analyses showed that epizootiological characteristics have no influence on the possibility of infection. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering (AHC) analyses used for comparing the symptoms and clinical signs of infection in dogs pointed out that a high degree of anemia, followed by thrombocytopenia (89%), lethargy (100%), loss of appetite (95%), fever (66%) and icterus (61%) was dominant. In addition, results of the statistical analysis performed showed that more dogs with no data of tick prophylaxis (70%) were found Babesia infected. Those results point to further intensified epizootic surveys in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29290581/