Infection of Babesia in domestic animals in Western Yunnan Province, China / 中国人兽共患病学报

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to investigate Babesia infection among domestic animals in Western Yunnan Province and provide scientific evidence for developing control measures.A total of 1 073 domestic animals blood samples (274cattle,395 sheep,354 dogs,33 horses and 17 donkeys) were collected in 12 counties in Western Yunnan Province.Genomic DNA was extracted and a near full-length 18S rRNA gene sequence of Babesia was amplified by using nested PCR.Babesia species was identified by Blast program and phylogenetic tree.It was indicated that 50 samples were infected with Babesia,belonging to 5 species and with the infection rate of 4.66％.Among 274 cattle blood samples,11 were infected with Babesia (4.01％).Four of them were Babesia bovis and seven of them were Babesia bigemina.Among 395 sheep blood samples,38 were infected with Babesia (9.62 ％),37 of them were Babesia odocoilei-like parasites and 1 of them was Babesia capreoli-like parasites.Horses and donkeys were negative.In conclusion,domestic animals in Western Yunnan Province are infected with many kinds of Babesia,which threaten stock raising development and human health.It is necessary to strengthen prevention of babesiosis and investigate infection rate of babesiosis in human.