Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Establishing Mouse Models for Zika Virus-induced Neurological Disorders Using Intracerebral Injection Strategies: Embryonic, Neonatal, and Adult
Published on: April 26, 2018
Fatal experimental transplacental Babesia gibsoni infections in dogs
Shinya Fukumoto1, Hiroshi Suzuki, Ikuo Igarashi
1Center for Disease Biology and Integrative Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan.
Abstract:
A Babesia gibsoni infected bitch was mated with an uninfected dog in order to determine whether this parasite could be vertically transmitted. The bitch delivered a litter of four live and one stillborn pup. The four pups died from congenital babesiosis between 14 and 39 days post-birth. Babesia gibsoni DNA was detected in tissue from all five pups. These results show that vertical transmission occurred by the uterine route and not via the transmammary route. This is the first confirmed report of transplacental Babesia infection in any animal species.
Related Concept Videos
Toxoplasmosis
Rabies