A case report of fatal feline babesiosis caused by Babesia canis in north western Spain.
BMC Vet Res
; 18(1): 177, 2022 May 14.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35568873
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
In Europe, Babesia infections in cats are sporadic and only partial knowledge is currently available since the number of described cases including both the clinical presentation and the molecular identification of the Babesia species involved is limited. In the present case report, the clinical signs, the epidemiological data and the molecular results suggest that this is the first reported fatal case of feline babesiosis caused by Babesia canis. CASE PRESENTATION A six month old female European shorthair cat from north-western Spain died after being hospitalized for two days. This animal was pregnant and showed anorexia, lethargy, weakness, jaundice and fever with increased respiratory and heart rates. Haematological analysis revealed haemolytic regenerative anaemia, thrombocytopenia and leukocytosis. The presence of piroplasms was assessed using a PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene of Babesia spp. and Theileria spp.; the sample resulted positive and B. canis was identified by DNA sequence analysis. The possible existence of co-infections with other vector-borne pathogens such as Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., Cytauxzoon spp., Ehrlichia spp., Hepatozoon canis, Mycoplasma spp. or Rickettsia spp. was excluded by qPCR.CONCLUSIONS:
Our results together with previous reports on Babesia infections in cats from Europe suggest that feline babesiosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of animals with anaemia, thrombocytopenia, anorexia and lethargy, especially in young or immunocompromised animals from endemic areas for canine babesiosis.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Babesia
/
Babesiose
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Trombocitopenia
/
Doenças do Gato
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Doenças do Cão
Tipo de estudo:
Diagnostic_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
País/Região como assunto:
Europa
Idioma:
En
Revista:
BMC Vet Res
Assunto da revista:
MEDICINA VETERINARIA
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Espanha