Parasitological and molecular detection of bovine babesiosis in endemic areas of Karnataka state

Abstract

A study was conducted to compare the specificity and sensitivity of parasitological methods (Giemsa and Fluorescent acridine orange staining) and PCR to detect the carrier status, subclinical and clinical babesiosis in cattle from endemic regions of Karnataka state in South India. Out of 148 cattle screened, 3 (2.03%), 7 (4.73%) and 16 (10.81%) were found positive for B. bigemina infection by Giemsa's staining, acridine orange staining and PCR, respectively. The conserved primers for B. bigemina derived from SpeI-AvaI restriction fragment were used in PCR which amplified a fragment of 278 bp in the positive cattle blood and was 83.26% sensitive and 91.16% specific for detection of babesiosis in cattle.