Porcine babesiosis caused by Babesia sp. Suis in a pot-bellied pig in South Africa

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dc.contributor.author Avenant, Alida
dc.contributor.author Park, Janice Y.
dc.contributor.author Vorster, Ilse
dc.contributor.author Mitchell, Emily P.
dc.contributor.author Arenas-Gamboa, Angela M.
dc.date.accessioned 2022-03-07T09:40:03Z
dc.date.available 2022-03-07T09:40:03Z
dc.date.issued 2021-01-06
dc.description.abstract Babesiosis is a worldwide, tick-borne disease of economic importance in livestock caused by Babesia spp., which are hemoparasitic piroplasms that target the host erythrocytes. Cattle, dogs, small ruminants, and wild ruminants are the species most commonly affected, while in cats, horses, and pigs, it is less frequently reported. Although babesiosis has been observed worldwide, porcine babesiosis remains an uncommon disease with a very limited number of cases reported. Here, we describe a case in a 12-year old pot-bellied pig from South Africa that died after a history of anorexia and reluctance to rise for 2 days. A complete necropsy, blood smear cytology, reverse line blot (RLB) hybridization and 18S rRNA sequencing were performed. Numerous Babesia spp. hemoparasites and a moderate regenerative anemia were identified on blood smear, and a urine dipstick test yielded 4+ heme. Diffuse icterus and splenomegaly were observed upon gross examination. Histopathology revealed hemoglobin casts within renal tubules and collecting ducts, pulmonary edema, splenic congestion, and intrahepatic cholestasis. BLASTN homology of the 18SrRNA sequence revealed a 100% identity to the published sequence of Babesia sp. Suis isolated frompigs in Italy. This case of babesiosis in a pig highlights the clinical manifestations and gross and pathological findings of porcine babesiosis. en_ZA
dc.description.department Paraclinical Sciences en_ZA
dc.description.department Veterinary Tropical Diseases en_ZA
dc.description.librarian am2022 en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorship The National Institutes of Health–NIH 5T35OD010991-15 (JP), the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria and the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. en_ZA
dc.description.uri https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science# en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Avenant, A., Park, J.Y., Vorster, I., Mitchell, E.P. & Arenas-Gamboa, A.M. (2021) Porcine Babesiosis Caused by Babesia sp. Suis in a Pot-Bellied Pig in South Africa. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7:620462. DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2020.620462. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 2297-1769 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.3389/fvets.2020.620462
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/84364
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher Frontiers Media en_ZA
dc.rights © 2021 Avenant, Park, Vorster, Mitchell and Arenas-Gamboa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). en_ZA
dc.subject Anemia en_ZA
dc.subject Babesiosis en_ZA
dc.subject Babesia sp. Suis en_ZA
dc.subject Hemoglobinuria en_ZA
dc.subject Icterus en_ZA
dc.subject Porcine en_ZA
dc.subject Reverse line blot (RLB) en_ZA
dc.subject 18S rRNA sequencing en_ZA
dc.subject Complete necropsy en_ZA
dc.subject Blood smear cytology en_ZA
dc.subject Pigs en_ZA
dc.title Porcine babesiosis caused by Babesia sp. Suis in a pot-bellied pig in South Africa en_ZA
dc.type Article en_ZA


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