Cross seasonal study on prevalence of ovine babesiosis in Kashmir

Abstract

A study was undertaken to elucidate the prevalence of ovine babesiosis in Kashmir. A total of 691 sheep reared at different places of central Kashmir and presented to Veterinary Clinical Complex, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences and Animal Husbandry (SKUAST Kashmir), Srinagar were screened from May 2016 to June 2017 for the prevalence of ovine babesiosis. A total of 185 cases of ovine babesiosis was diagnosed with a prevalence rate of 26.77%. The diagnosis was based on clinical manifestations, presence of ticks, demonstration of Babesia piroplasms on blood smear, and by PCR amplification. The animals were divided into four groups according to the season. The seasonal prevalence of the disease was highest in summer (42.70%), followed by spring (38.91%), autumn (11.35%) and lowest in winter (7.03%). In all season Haemaphysalis ticks were identified as the vectors for the transmission of ovine babesiosis in the study area