Prevalence of anti-Babesia gibsoni antibodies in clinically healthy dogs
2015
Soma, T. (Marupi Lifetech Co. Ltd., Ikeda (Japan). Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory) | Imamoto, S. | Hase, T. | Kato, A. | Sunagawa, K. | Ohara, M. | Xuan, X.
To investigate the prevalence of Babesia gibsoni infection, a clinically important haemoprotozoan, in dogs in Japan, we performed antibody testing using ELISA with a recombinant BgTRAP antigen. Of 1,905 healthy dogs living in the prefectures of Nara, Hyogo, Wakayama, and Kagawa from March to August 2014, 101 (5.3%) were positive for the B. gibsoni antibody. The rearing environment, the anthelmintic administration for treatment, and the history of ixodid parasitism had no significant influence on the rate of positive findings. Among dogs housed indoors and those given anthelmintic treatment, 5.8% and 3.8%, respectively, were positive. Hematological and biochemical examinations revealed that the positive rate was significantly greater in dogs with anemic tendency, high leukocyte count, and increased alkaline phosphatase (P<0.05). These findings suggest that dogs of any status and in all rearing environments are at risk for infection with the protozoa, and not a few apparently healthy dogs have been affected.
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