Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Mar 14;12(6):730.
doi: 10.3390/ani12060730.

Babesia gibsoni Infection in Dogs-A European Perspective

Oliwier Teodorowski  1 , Marcin Kalinowski  2 , Dagmara Winiarczyk  3 , Banu Dokuzeylül  4 , Stanisław Winiarczyk  2 , Łukasz Adaszek  2
Affiliations
Review

Babesia gibsoni Infection in Dogs-A European Perspective

Oliwier Teodorowski et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Canine babesiosis is a disease caused by infection with parasites of the genus Babesia. These protozoa are classified as either large (e.g., Babesia canis) or small (e.g., Babesia gibsoni). So far, only three small Babesia species of clinical importance, able to infect dogs, have been described: B. gibsoni, B. conradae, and B. vulpes. This review presents the current epidemiological situation of Babesia gibsoni infections in dogs in Europe. In most European countries where B. gibsoni has been reported, the percentage of infected dogs is around 1%. The higher prevalence of the B. gibsoni infection among American Pit Bull Terriers suggests breed susceptibility. An analysis of the available data makes it possible to conclude that B. gibsoni infections may appear in the future in other non-endemic regions of Europe, which may pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges for veterinary practitioners.

Keywords: Babesia gibsoni; Europe; babesiosis; dog.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
B. gibsoni inside red blood cells (marked with arrows). Blood smear stained by the Giemsa method.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Occurrence of canine infection by Babesia gibsoni in European countries.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Vial H.J., Gorenflot A. Chemotherapy against babesiosis. Vet. Parasitol. 2006;138:147–160. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2006.01.048. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Solano-Gallego L., Sainz A., Roura X., Estrada-Peña A., Miró G. A review of canine babesiosis: The European perspective. Parasit. Vectors. 2016;9:336. doi: 10.1186/s13071-016-1596-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Hamel D., Silaghi C., Lescai D., Pfister K. Epidemiological aspects on vector-borne infections in stray and pet dogs from Romania and Hungary with focus on Babesia spp. Parasitol. Res. 2012;110:1537–1545. doi: 10.1007/s00436-011-2659-y. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Tóthová C., Karasová M., Blaňarová L., Fialkovičová M., Nagy O. Differences in serum protein electrophoretic pattern in dogs naturally infected with Babesia gibsoni and Babesia canis. Sci. Rep. 2020;10:18904. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-75908-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Adaszek Ł., Jankowska M., Kalinowski M., Banach T., Wułupek D., Winiarczyk S. The loop-mediated isothermal amplification assay for rapid diagnosis of Babesia canis canis infections in dogs. Pol. J. Vet. Sci. 2013;16:131–133. doi: 10.2478/pjvs-2013-0020. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources