engleski

Equine piroplasmosis in 15 horses naturally invaded with Babesia caballi

Equine piroplasmosis is a tick-borne disease caused by two haemoprotozoan parasites, Theileria equi (T. equi) and Babesia caballi (B. caballi). The disease causes haemolytic anaemia and presents in an acute, subacute or chronic form. Clinical presentation and treatment of equine piroplasmosis vary depending on the cause of the disease and emphasize the importance of the exact diagnosis. Here we present the clinical manifestation resultsof equine piroplasmosis in horses naturally invaded with B. caballi. The diagnosis included microscopic evidence in Giemsa stained blood smears and PCR of whole blood, folowed by 18S rRNA gene sequencing confirming the diagnosis. All of the horses were naturally invaded with B. caballi and presented with severe clinical presentation showing depresion, increased body temperature, inapetence, abdominal pain and ventral edema. Laboratory blood results showed variable stages of anemia with tromboctytopenia, while biochemistry blood results revealedhypoproteinemia with hypoalbuminemia, increased bilirubin concentrations and lactate dehydrogenase enzyme activity. All of the horses were treated with imidocarb diprorionate and some showed severe abdominal pain following the therapy. Animals fully recovered after the specific treatment. Equine piroplasmosis imposes great concerns for the equine industry regarding international horse movement, and therefore requires early disease recognition and reliable diagnostic tools that will enable effective disease control.

Equine piroplasmosis ; horse ; Babesia caballi

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