Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Babesia infection found in pet cats in mainland China
By Zhang, Xue-Lian et al.·Published in BMC veterinary research·2019·Foshan University, China·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular evidence of Babesia in pet cats in mainland China.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Three pet cats in Shenzhen, China, were found to be infected with a tick-borne parasite called Babesia vogeli, which can cause health issues in cats. This was discovered through blood tests that detected the parasite's DNA. While Babesia infections are more commonly reported in dogs, this study marks the first time it has been documented in cats in mainland China. The findings suggest that this parasite may be spreading among the cat population, highlighting the need for further research on its impact.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Babesia spp. are important emerging tick-borne protozoan hemoparasites, and pose a great impact on companion animals. Canine babesiosis has been well described worldwide, while felis babesiosis has primarily been reported from South Africa. To the best of our knowledge, Babesia spp. infections in dogs have been well elucidated in pet dog population in China, no report about Babesia spp. infection in cat population in mainland China. RESULTS: In this study, a total of 203 blood samples were collected from pet cats in Shenzhen city, and detected the presence of Babesia spp. with nested-PCR. Sequence comparison based on the 18S rRNA gene and ITS region revealed that three cats (1.48%) were infected with Babesia. vogeli. Notably, the sequences of ITS region obtained in this study shared the highest nucleotide identity with the sequence of B. vogeli strain isolated in cat from Taiwan. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first report about babesiosis in domestic cats, and also provides molecular evidence of Babesia spp. infection in cat in mainland China. The data present in this study suggest B. vogeli may be circulating in cat population in mainland China. Further study to investigate the epidemiology of Babesia infection in cat nationwide is warranted.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31888625/