Survey of Babesia infections of dogs in Mumbai, India

Abstract

Babesia are tick-borne, intra-erythrocytic, haemoprotozoan parasites that affect mammals and birds worldwide (Kuttler, 1988). Canine babesiosis is an important disease of dogs in south Asia, but unfortunately its epidemiology in India is not fully researched and understood (Mandal et. al, 2014). Prior to this, there was no information regarding the prevalence of Babesia infections in dogs in Mumbai. Thus the aim of this study was to investigate the Babesia infections in dogs in the city, using venous blood samples were collected from 513 dogs.