A Review on Bovine Babesiosis in Egypt

Abstract

Bovine babesiosis is a tick-borne hemoprotozoan disease of cattle. It is caused by intra-erythrocytic protozoan parasites of the genus Babesia, which affects a wide range of domestic and wild animals and occasionally humans. Several species of the genus Babesia are involved, with the two most important species in cattle; are B. bigemina and B. bovis that are mainly transmitted by ticks through the transovarial route. The disease causes severe economic losses in the cattle industry, mainly associated with the reduction in the production rate and high mortalities. The disease prevails in tropical and subtropical areas where overlapping with the vector, one-host tick of Boophilus species, exist. Subclinical babesiosis leads to conversion of the affected livestock to chronic carriers, producing a persistent source of infection for tick vectors, and maintaining the natural transmission of the disease. Active disease cases are commonly diagnosed with the traditional geimsa-stained blood smears, although more advanced diagnosis techniques exist including, but not limited to, the molecular and serological methods. The disease is optimally controlled through treatment of affected animals, and prevention of the disease dissemination by eradicating vector ticks. This review, focused on all aspects of the disease from the historical perspectives, biology of the parasite, risk factors, pathogenesis, clinical signs, vector transmitters, diagnosis, prevention and control.

Babesiosis in Cattle

“…1). Moreover, B. major, B. ovata, B. occultaus, and B. jakimovi can also infect the cattle (Menshawy 2020).…”

“…Boophilus ticks can transmit both B. bigemina and B. bovis, with nymphs and adults transmitting B. bigemina but only tick larvae transmitting B. bovis (Esmaeil et al 2015). It is also mechanically transmitted by infected needles and syringes, blood transfusion, and surgical instruments (Menshawy 2020). R. micropuls (formerly Boophilus micropuls) and R. annulatus are tick vectors of B. bigemina (formerly Boophilus annulatus).…”

“…Babesia is a protozoan parasite belonging to the genus piroplasmida, causes a deadly disease in livestock and farm animals and is transmitted by the ticks. Because the illness has direct economic effects like decreased milk output, loss of body weight, and animal death, it poses major issues for both animal life and farm economies (Menshawy 2020). It also exerts secondary costs associated with treatment and prevention (Guswanto et al 2017).…”

A Comprehensive Review of Tick-Born Blood Protozoan Disease in Cattle: Babesiosis and Vaccination

“…It is also spread through contaminated syringes, needles, surgical instruments, and blood transfusions (18). Babesia species, their vectors, and their distribution are listed in Table 1 (19).…”

Molecular prevalence and associated infection risk factors of tick-borne protozoan and rickettsial blood pathogens in small ruminants

“…Under field conditions, the diagnosis of tick-borne blood pathogens depends primarily on collecting case history data, identifying clinical symptoms in animals, and performing laboratory diagnoses [ 10 , 11 ]. Laboratory diagnosis primarily includes microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained blood smears to detect erythrocytic stages of protozoan blood parasites and molecular detection of parasitic agents [ 10 , 12 ]. Molecular techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), restriction fragment length polymorphism, and phylogenetic analysis are also applied to detect previously unidentified species of disease-causative protozoan parasites and are also used to differentiate between different species of the same genus in different hosts and different districts [ 10 ].…”