Molecular diagnosis and phylogenetic analysis of Babesia bigemina and Babesia bovis hemoparasites from cattle in South Africa

摘要

BackgroundBabesia parasites, mainly Babesia bovis and B. bigemina, are tick-borne hemoparasites inducing bovine babesiosis in cattle globally. The clinical signs of the disease include, among others, anemia, fever and hemoglobinuria. Babesiosis is known to occur in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. In this study, we aim to provide information about the occurrence and phylogenetic relationship of B. bigemina and B. bovis species in cattle from different locations in nine provinces of South Africa.A total of 430 blood samples were randomly collected from apparently healthy cattle. These samples were genetically tested for Babesia parasitic infections using nested PCR assays with species-specific primers.