Babesia Infections in Dogs
Aug 06, 2021
What is Babesia infection?
Babesia infection or babesiosis refers to a tick-borne infection due to a protozoal parasite. Babesia invades mammalian red blood cells causing anemia. Babesia species are found worldwide, although in North America, most canine cases of babesiosis occur in the southern United States. Babesiosis is considered a serious threat to racing greyhounds and pit bull terriers.
How can a dog catch Babesiosis or get a Babesia infection?
In most cases, Babesia organisims are spread to dogs through the bite of an infected tick, however, some studies suggest that infected dogs with open mouth sores can pass on the infection to other dogs through a bite, and infected pregnant females can transmit babesiosis to their unborn puppies.
While most cases of babesiosis are transmitted via tick bites, in pit bull terriers Babesia gibsoni infection is most often due to maternal transmission or dog to dog bites.
Signs and Symptoms of Babesia in Dogs
Babesia infections have a wide range of severity: they can be very mild or very severe, sometimes even fatal.3 The severity depends mainly on the strain of Babesia involved but also on the immune system of the dog. Babesia strains in the U.S. generally produce milder disease compared to some of the strains found elsewhere. The course of the disease may be cyclical, with periods of symptoms punctuated by times where symptoms are absent.
Signs of Babesia in Dogs |
· Fever · Weakness · Lethargy · Pale gums and tongue · Red or orange urine · Jaundice (yellow tinge to the skin, gums, and whites of eyes) · Enlarged lymph nodes · Enlarged spleen |
In severe cases, multiple organ systems may also be affected including the lungs, gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, and the nervous system. Sometimes dogs suffer a very acute form of Babesiosis and suddenly go into shock and collapse.
How is babesiosis diagnosed?
In the past, babesiosis was diagnosed by seeing the parasite on a blood smear.
Other diagnostic tests are becoming more readily available, including FA (fluorescent antibody) staining of the organism and ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) tests. A PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test is also available and is commonly used to diagnose babesiosis.
After several years of painstaking research, our company has developed the Canine Bebesia Rapid Test which can generate a result in 10 minutes, it has the advantage in that it is much more fast, convenient and affordable.
How to Prevent Babesia?
Treatment for the condition can be expensive, so prevention where possible is key! When it comes to preventing babesiosis, keeping your dog on year round tick prevention medication can be an effective way to prevent a range of tick-borne diseases.
Checking your dog daily for ticks, and correctly removing any parasites you find, can be an effective approach to prevention since it takes a minimum of 48 hours for the Babesia transmission to occur once the tick begins feeding on your pet.