Prevalence of Babesia gibsoni and its in associated risk factors in dogs

Abstract

Babesia gibsoni is the smallest form of babesiosis in dogs. The present study was focused to study the prevalence of Babesia gibsoni in the Cauvery delta region of Tamil Nadu. The present study was conducted at the Small Animal Medicine Outpatient unit, Veterinary Clinical Complex (VCC), Veterinary College and Research Institute (VCRI), Orathanadu, Thanjavur for a period of one year from September to August 2024. 34.39% of the dogs were found to be positive for B. gibsoni confirmed by PCR. Male, Labrador retrievers dogs with 2-4 years aged dogs were more susceptible to B. gibsoni. The nature of illness was mostly acute (80.43%) with high rise in temperature lethargy (84.78%), tick infestation (80.43%) palpable splenomegaly (43.47%) were the most common clinical signs reported.