Correlation Between Hematological Parameters and Babesia Spp. Infestation In Animals

摘要

Babesiosis is a serious parasitic disease affecting different species of mammals including humans, as an opportunistic host, produced by a single-celled parasite that is transmitted by ticks that represent definitive hosts and reservoir in nature. As a zoonotic disease, babesiosis is of great importance both for the human and animal pathology. The study aim is to assess the hematological changes induced by Babesia spp. infestation and their correlation with the evolutionary stage of the parasite. This paper sought to determine hematological parameters and leukocyte formula in a number of 18 cases, 15 dogs and three horses. The obtained data were entered into contingency tables, the results being statistically interpreted using the SPSS 18 statistics software and Fisher's exact test which illustrates the association between two different categories of investigated parameters. Due Babesia spp. affinity for erythrocytes, anemia is the most commonly diagnosed disorder in babesiosis. Direct action of parasites on erythrocytes by producing toxins or indirectly by stimulating an autoimmune response leads to destruction of red blood cells in large numbers according to the degree of parasitemia. The average value of erythrocytes, hemoglobin and hematocrit are inversely proportional to the expressed parasitemia by the studied individuals. Different types of anemia were detected among the infected subjects. Normochromic, normocytic (9 cases), microcytic (2 cases) or macrocytic (3 cases), hypochromic (2 subjects) or hyperchromic anemia (4 cases) were the anemia types developed by the studied animals. Decrease of blood platelets or thrombocytopenia is another hematological change associated with babesiosis. Thrombocytopenia may reflect changes in the production, consumption, sequestration or responsiveness of platelets. The study allowed to discover another very significant statistical correlation between the presence of leukocytosis and monocytosis, this association having a p0,001. The conducted study allowed to assess very significant statistical associations between the presence of thrombocytopenia accompanied by lymphopenia, respectively leukocytosis and an increase in the number of monocytes.