Study on ovine babesiosis in different age groups in Kashmir valley

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 was screened from May 2016 to June 2017 for the prevalence of ovine babesiosis. A total of 185 cases of ovine babesiosis were diagnosed with a prevalence rate of 26.77%. The diagnosis was based on clinical manifestations, the presence of ticks, demonstration of Babesia piroplasms on blood smear, and by PCR amplification. The animals were divided into four groups, group A (0-3 months), group B (3-6 months), group C (6-12 months) and group D (above 12 months). Adult sheep in the age group greater than 12 months (58.37%) were mostly infected with babesiosis compared to sheep of 0-3 months (24.32%), 3-6 months (8.65%) and 6-12 months (8.65%). Haemaphysalis ticks were identified as the vectors for the transmission of ovine babesiosis in the study area.