Clinico-epidemiological studies on Babesia gibsoni in dogs in Bengaluru

Abstract

Babesia gibsoni is a small, intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite responsible for canine babesiosis, a tick-borne disease of significant clinical importance in dogs. The parasite is primarily transmitted by Haemaphysalis longicornis and Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks, although transmission through dog bites, blood transfusions, and transplacental routes has also been documented. The infection is widely prevalent in Asia and the Middle East and is increasingly reported in Europe and North America due to international pet movement and expanding vector distribution. Clinically, affected dogs commonly exhibit fever, pallor of mucous membranes, lethargy, anorexia, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, and icterus, reflecting the hemolytic and systemic nature of the disease.A total of 16721 dogs were presented to Small Animal Clinic, Teaching Veterinary Hospital, Veterinary College, Bengaluru with various problems during the study period from January 2025 to June 2025. Detailed information was obtained from the owners and standardized physical examination of dogs was carried out with special reference to clinical signs of Babesiosis. 236 out of 16721 had clinical signs suggestive of canine babesiosis and these dogs were subjected to hematological and biochemical examination. Seventy-two dogs exhibited hematobiochemical alterations, predominantly characterized by anemia, leukocytosis, and thrombocytopenia, and were subsequently subjected to blood smear examination and PCR analysis of these, 32 out of 72 dogs tested positive for Babesia gibsoni by blood smear, while 24 out of 72 were confirmed positive by PCR.