Microscopic Diagnosis of Babesia (Piroplasm) Infection in water Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) in Nineveh Governorate

The study results showed that the overall infection rate with Babesia spp. in buffalo was 41.48%, based on microscopic examination of blood smears stained with Giemsa stain. The parasite was characterized by its appearance within red blood cells as small, round or oval morphologies, sometimes in pairs with a pear-shaped appearance, staining dark blue under the microscope.Examination using Acridine Orange stain also demonstrated high detection power for the parasite, showing the parasite morphologies as bright orange-yellow within infected cells, while healthy cells appeared green. The study further demonstrated a statistically significant sex-related difference in infection prevalence (P ≤ 0.05), with females showing a markedly higher infection rate of 52.32% compared with only 22.44% in males. The study detected infections which affected all age categories but three-year-old animals and above showed the highest infection rate at 73.80%. The research established that different age groups showed substantial variations in their infection rates. The results also showed no significant differences (P>0.05) in infection rates between the regions included in the study.