Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Babesia canis canis infection found in dogs in Croatia
By Brkljacić, Mirna et al.·Published in Acta veterinaria Hungarica·2010·University of Zagreb Clinic for Internal Diseases Heinzelova 55 10 000 Zagreb Croatia. mbrklijacic@vef.hr·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Molecular evidence of natural infection with Babesia canis canis in Croatia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 28 dogs in Croatia showed signs of a serious illness called babesiosis, which included symptoms like lethargy, loss of appetite, fever, dark urine, and low platelet counts. Blood tests confirmed they were infected with a parasite called Babesia canis canis. This study found a new genetic variant of the parasite in some of the dogs. If your dog shows similar symptoms, it's important to see a vet for diagnosis and treatment, as babesiosis can be serious but is treatable with the right medications.
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Abstract
The aim of the present study was to detect and characterise the species and subspecies of Babesia spp. that cause canine babesiosis in Croatia. Twenty-eight dogs with typical signs of babesiosis (lethargy, anorexia, fever, dark urine and thrombocytopenia) were included in this study. Their blood smears showed the presence of Babesia canis . The results showed the detection of one subspecies, namely Babesia canis canis using PCR, and subsequent sequence analysis demonstrated portions of the nss rRNA gene in 27 out of 28 samples. Sequence analysis of the isolates showed 100% identity in 11 samples, 99.7% identity (one nucleotide difference) in 11 samples and 99.4% identity (two nucleotides difference) in 5 samples with B. canis canis . The results of this study confirm the presence of B. canis canis in infected dogs in Croatia and demonstrate a slightly new genetic variant of Babesia subspecies.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20159737/