Molecular evidence of piroplasm infection in companion animals in Hunan Province, China

BACKGROUND: Feline and canine babesiosis is an important tick-borne disease caused by parasites of the genus Babesia. The disease has a worldwide distribution and causes serious health problems in domestic and wild canidae and felidae. RESULTS: Genomic DNA was isolated from blood samples, which were randomly collected from pet dogs (n = 115) and cats (n = 25) in Changsha city of Hunan Province, China. Results of nested PCR assay targeting 18S rRNA gene and partial gene sequencing revealed that seven animals were infected with Babesia species, five dogs (5/115, 4.3%) and two cats (2/25, 8.0%). Sequence analysis showed that four dogs (3.5%) were positive for Babesia canis, and the other one for Babesia vogeli (0.87%). The two cats were infected by Babesia hongkongensis. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study will expand knowledge of the distribution of Babesia species and provide important epidemiological information for the control of animal babesiosis in China.