Abstract
BackgroundBabesia 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.ResultsIn 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.ConclusionsThis 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.
Highlights
Babesia spp. are important emerging tick-borne protozoan hemoparasites, and pose a great impact on companion animals
Babesia spp. infections in dogs have been well described in Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Gansu, and Hubei Provinces of China, and demonstrated that B. gibsoni and B. vogeli were the causative agents of canine babesiosis [20–23]
Babesia spp. detection All DNA samples were subjected to screen the presence of Babesia spp. by nested PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia species
Summary
Babesia spp. are important emerging tick-borne protozoan hemoparasites, and pose a great impact on companion animals. Babesia spp. are important emerging tick-borne protozoan hemoparasites with great economic, veterinary, and medical significance [1]. They are considered to be one of the most commonly found parasites in the blood of mammals, and they can naturally infect the red blood cells of a broad range of vertebrate hosts, including rodents, cattle, horses, humans, and companion animals (cats and dogs) [1]. Babesiosis caused by different Babesia species is a disease with a worldwide distribution characterized by Babesia spp. infections in dogs have been well described in Shandong, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Gansu, and Hubei Provinces of China, and demonstrated that B. gibsoni and B. vogeli were the causative agents of canine babesiosis [20–23].
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