This study of 1196 dogs over a period of 18 months determined the seasonal infection patterns of canine babesiosis in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. The work also describes a retrospective study of the prevalence of canine babesiosis in laboratory clinical blood samples submitted to the University of Zambia, School of Veterinary Medicine for routine haematological examination from the year 1994 to 2009. A cross-sectional study was also performed to determine the levels of Babesia in a low-income society (during the dry season and the wet season of the year), where 361 samples were collected from dogs presented for mass rabies vaccination campaigns. Morphology of the Babesia indicated that all were of the large-sized Babesia canis infection. Babesia-positive dogs had significantly higher rectal temperatures than negative ones, and dogs younger than 1 year were more likely to be Babesia positive followed by those between 2 and 5 years old. Seasonal trends indicate two peaks, one in the rainy season (November-March) and another in the cold dry season (June/July). Monthly prevalence rates of Babesia ranged from 0% to 2.4% in natural populations and from 0% to 28.6% in laboratory specimens. This study shows that Zambia has lower Babesia prevalence than reported in other African countries.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2010.12.006 | DOI Listing |
Pathogens
December 2024
Department of Veterinary Prevention and Feed Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland.
Tick-borne diseases (TBDs) pose a growing threat to companion animals, especially dogs, due to the increasing abundance of tick populations in Europe, driven by climate change, urbanization, and the mobility of humans and animals. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in clinically ill dogs suspected of having developed TBDs during the autumn-winter season, as well as to detect pathogens in ticks collected during the same period in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship in Poland. A total of 30 dogs with clinical symptoms of babesiosis and 45 ticks from dogs were acquired for this study.
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December 2024
Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Sosnowiec, Medical University of Silesia, 40-055 Katowice, Poland.
is the parasite responsible for a life-threatening disease for dogs in Central Europe, of which the main vector is the ornate dog tick-. The objective of the presented study was to assess the prevalence of infection in dogs with clinical suspicion of babesiosis, which tested positive for from locations where there is no or very limited information about dog exposure to this pathogen. In order to confirm the presence of this protozoan, blood samples were collected from dogs treated in veterinary clinics with suspicion of canine babesiosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Vet Res
December 2024
School of Statistics and Planning, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
Background: In developing countries such as Uganda, domestic dogs suffer high burdens of infectious diseases often with high mortalities. Surveillance data on the common diseases and associated mortalities is however scanty. We thus, present results of a retrospective study of common clinical conditions and mortalities of dogs brought for treatment at the small animal clinic, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFParasitol Res
December 2024
Animal Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universidad Complutense of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
Piroplasmids are vector-borne hemoprotozoan parasites belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa that are of veterinary and medical importance. Wild carnivores are hosts for diverse piroplasmids, some of which are highly pathogenic for domestic dogs and cats. A large-scale survey including samples from 244 individuals belonging to eleven different species that were opportunistically obtained between 1993 and 2015 in four Autonomous Regions in Spain were tested for piroplasmid DNA with two different nested-PCR assays targeting the 18S rRNA gene.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpidemiol Mikrobiol Imunol
November 2024
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