Incidence and Clinico-Pathological Studies on Canine Babesiosis in and Around Akola, Maharashtra, India

INTRODUCTIONCanine babesiosis is an important vector-borne disease with worldwide distribution.It is caused by intra-erythrocytic protozoa belonging to the genus Babesia, order Piroplasmida, phylum Apicomplexa [1] Morphometric evaluation revealed large forms (2.5-5.0 µm) and small forms (1.0-2.5 µm) of the organism during blood smear examination.The large form consists of three species, viz., B. canis, B. rossi, and B. vogeli, and the small forms (1.0-2.5 µm) encompass the B. gibsoni, B. conradae, and B. microti [2].B. vogeli and B. gibsoni are widely distributed in India amongst domestic canine populations causing fatal infections [3].Ticks like Dermacentor reticulatus, Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Haemaphysalis leachi act as a vector for the transmission of protozoa which is usually specific to each species of Babesia.The distribution of vector species decides the occurrence of Babesia spp. in dogs in a particular area [4].Furthermore, babesiosis can be transmitted between canines through bite [5] and transplacental route [6].