A presumptive case of cerebral babesiosis in a dog in Poland caused by a virulent Babesia canis strain

Summary

The aim of this paper was to present the first case of cerebral canine babesiosis due to infection by Babesia canis in a dog in Poland. A 5-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier was presented with an unusual clinical manifestation of acute babesiosis that included neurological signs and pancytopenia. Despite treatment the dog died. Diagnosis was based on microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained blood smears (detection of piroplasms in red blood cells) and post mortem examination of the brain by histopathology and PCR method. The amplified segment of the Babesia 18S RNA gene was sequenced. This enabled to determine that the cause of the disease had been the strain 18S RNA-B EU622793. This is one of two B. canis strains found endemically in Poland, which reveals a greater virulence than the strain 18S RNA-A EU622792. The described case indicates that this form of canine babesiosis should be taken into account in differential diagnosis in dogs exhibiting neurological symptoms, especially in the tick activity season.

Zusammenfassung

Der Fallbericht beschreibt den ersten Fall einer durch Babesia canis verursachten zerebralen Babesiose bei einem Hund in Polen. Ein 5 Jahre alter American Staffordshire Terrier wurde mit ungewöhnlicher klinischer Manifestation einer akuten Babesiose in Form von neurologischen Symptomen und Panzytopenie vorgestellt. Trotz Behandlung starb der Hund. Die Diagnose basierte auf der mikroskopischen Untersuchung nach Giemsa gefärbter Blutausstriche (Nachweis von Piroplasmen in Erythrozyten) und den Befunden der histopathologischen und mittels PCR-Verfahren durchgeführten Untersuchung des Gehirns postmortal. Das mittels PCR amplifizierte Fragment des Babesia-18S-RNA-Gens wurde sequenziert. Dies ermöglichte die Identifikation des Babesia-canis-Stamms 18S RNA-B EU622793 als Ursache der Erkrankung. Hierbei handelt es sich um einen von zwei in Polen endemisch vorkommenden B.-canis-Stämmen, der eine größere Virulenz aufweist als der Stamm 18S RNA-A EU622792. Der Fall zeigt, dass diese Form der Babesiose bei Hunden mit neurologischen Symptomen differenzialdiagnostisch berücksichtigt werden sollte, vor allem in der Saison der Zeckenaktivität.

Key words

Babesia canis - cerebral babesiosis - dog - PCR - vector-borne diseases

Schlüsselwörter

Babesia canis - zerebrale Babesiose - Hund - PCR - vektorübertragene Krankheiten

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