Molecular evidence of Babesia in pet cats in mainland China.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Babesia spp. are important emerging tick-borne protozoan hemoparasites, and pose a great impact on companion animals. Canine babesiosis has been well described worldwide, while felis babesiosis has primarily been reported from South Africa. To the best of our knowledge, Babesia spp. infections in dogs have been well elucidated in pet dog population in China, no report about Babesia spp. infection in cat population in mainland China. RESULTS:In this study, a total of 203 blood samples were collected from pet cats in Shenzhen city, and detected the presence of Babesia spp. with nested-PCR. Sequence comparison based on the 18S rRNA gene and ITS region revealed that three cats (1.48%) were infected with Babesia. vogeli. Notably, the sequences of ITS region obtained in this study sha

SUBMITTER: Zhang XL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6937699 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature