Novel foci of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks infected with Babesia canis and Babesia caballi in the Netherlands and in Belgium.

Background: Autochthonous populations of Dermacentor reticulatus ticks in the Netherlands were discovered after fatal cases of babesiosis occurred in resident dogs in 2004. The presence of D. reticulatus in the Netherlands has also linked with the emergence of piroplasmosis in the resident horse population.