Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How a new PCR test detects and tracks Babesia infection in dogs
By Wang, Chengming et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2010·Department of Pathobiology, United States·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Frequency and therapy monitoring of canine Babesia spp. infection by high-resolution melting curve quantitative FRET-PCR.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A study found that 10% of dogs tested in the U.S. had a blood infection called babesiosis, caused by the parasites Babesia gibsoni and Babesia canis. Symptoms of this disease can include fever, weakness, and pale gums. The researchers discovered that older dogs had lower levels of the infection, and treatment with the medications atovaquone and tilmicosin successfully cleared the Babesia gibsoni infection. However, other treatments like doxycycline and berenil were not effective. This highlights the importance of accurate testing and effective treatment options for dogs with babesiosis.
People also search for: dog babesiosis symptoms · treatment for Babesia gibsoni in dogs · how to test for Babesia in dogs
Abstract
Babesia gibsoni and Babesia canis are the etiological agents of canine babesiosis, a protozoal hemolytic disease with global significance. Canine babesiosis has been diagnosed by microscopic identification of intra-erythrocytic trophozoites in blood smear, and by serological testing. Here we developed a quantitative fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-PCR that amplifies a fragment of the Babesia spp. 18S rRNA gene with high sensitivity and specificity. Melting curve analysis differentiates B. gibsoni, B. canis canis/B. canis vogeli, and B. canis rossi by the disassociation temperature of the fluorescent probes. Babesia gibsoni infection was detected in 8 of 48 canine breeds (17%) and 24 of a total of 235 specimens (10.2%) submitted from 22 states of the continental United States of America. A potential blood donor was positive for B. canis vogeli infection. In Hong Kong (China), B. gibsoni infection was detected in 30 of 64 specimens (46.9%) from 15 of the 24 breeds (63%). While the frequency of canine babesiosis did not associate with seasonal change in Hong Kong, positivity in the USA for Babesia spp. infection was higher in Spring and Summer than in Autumn and Winter. The data suggest that environmental factors associated with tick vector exposure rather than genetic susceptibility determine the incidence of canine babesiosis. Babesia spp. burdens in blood declined significantly with increasing age of the infected dogs, and therapy with atovaquone and tilmicosin eliminated B. gibsoni while doxcycline and berenil did not. This demonstrates that high-resolution real-time PCR analysis may advance diagnosis and therapy monitoring of canine babesiosis.
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/19931290/