Molecular detection and hematological alterations in dogs infected by Babesia vogeli from Paraguay

Babesiosis is a vector-borne disease caused by an intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite of the genus Babesia. There are several species of Babesia that can infect dogs, however, B. vogeli is the most widely distributed in South America. Anemia and thrombocytopenia are the most frequent hematologic alterations reported in dogs with babesiosis. The aim of the present study was to perform a molecular characterization of the Babesia species and describe the hematological findings regarding dogs with the Babesia infection. Blood samples were collected from 35 dogs living in an urban area with symptoms compatible with babesiosis, and the data was analyzed using molecular as well as hematological approaches. Molecular detection was performed by nested Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) targeting the 18S rRNA gene. To identify species, positives samples were sequenced and analyzed. Among the total number of samples, four (11%) were reported as positive due to a high identity (99-100%) and were clustered with the B. vogeli clade. The main hematological alteration found in infected dogs was thrombocytopenia (100%). Other abnormalities were also observed, although to a lesser extent, such as: normocytic normochromic anemia, monocytosis and eosinopenia. It is important to emphasize that this research is the first study involving molecular detection and hematology abnormalities in dogs with B. vogeli from Paraguay.