Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Babesia hongkongensis infection is rare in cats in Hong Kong
By Almendros, A et al.·Published in Ticks and tick-borne diseases·2024·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, China·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Low prevalence of Babesia hongkongensis infection in community and privately-owned cats in Hong Kong.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that a small number of community cats in Hong Kong were infected with a type of blood parasite called Babesia hongkongensis, but no privately-owned cats showed signs of this infection. Out of 239 community cats tested, only 4 had this parasite, and they were all healthy at the time. In contrast, one privately-owned cat was found to have another type of Babesia, B. gibsoni, and it was experiencing anemia and low platelet levels. Overall, while these infections can occur in cats, they are quite rare, and the specific tick that spreads B. hongkongensis has not yet been identified.
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Abstract
Domestic cats are susceptible to infection with at least 11 species of Babesia. In Hong Kong, where dogs are commonly infected with B. gibsoni, a single infection in a cat by a novel species, B. hongkongensis, was reported previously. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency of Babesia spp. detection in cats in Hong Kong. Residual blood-derived DNA from healthy free-roaming community cats (n = 239), and privately-owned cats with and without anaemia undergoing diagnostic investigations (n = 125) was tested for Babesia spp. DNA using a pan-Babesia PCR targeting mitochondrial Cytochrome B, and a B. hongkongensis specific PCR targeting 18S rRNA. Positive samples were confirmed by sequencing and comparative sequence analysis against the GenBank nucleotide database. Babesia hongkongensis was detected in 4/239 (1.7 %) community cats, and 0/125 (0.0 %) privately-owned cats. Babesia gibsoni was detected in 0/239 community cats and 1/125 (0.8 %) privately-owned cats. Cats infected with B. hongkongensis were clinically healthy at the time of sampling. The B. gibsoni-infected cat was anaemic and thrombocytopenic. Cats in Hong Kong can be infected with B. hongkongensis and B. gibsoni, albeit at low frequency. The tick vector for B. hongkongensis is yet to be identified.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37979475/