Babesiosis is colloquially known as canine malaria and leads to the destruction of red blood cells (hemolysis) and thus to anemia (anemia). The pathogens are transmitted from infected ticks to the dog. This disease is also common in Mediterranean countries. If left untreated, babesiosis often leads to the death of the dog. Therefore, it is important that you know the symptoms and act correctly in an emergency.
What is babesiosis?
Babesiosis is a parasitic babesia-induced condition that destroys your dog’s red blood cells. Babesia are single-celled organisms of the genus Piroplasma. For this reason, the disease is also known as piroplasmosis.
How does the dog get babesiosis?
Babesiosis is transmitted to the dog by ticks. These parasites serve Babesia as an intermediate host. They migrate over the saliva of the tick to its main host, the dog.
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Carriers of the piroplasmas are mainly the alluvial forest tick (Dermacentor reticulatus) and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus). They originally come from warm Mediterranean countries. Therefore, babesiosis in dogs used to be considered pure motion sickness, which the animal contracted during a holiday stay in Italy or Spain. Meanwhile, the Babesia-bearing tick species are also increasingly resident in Germany and Austria due to climate change and your dog can also become infected during walks in the local area.
After the tick bite, it usually takes twelve to 48 hours for the tick to transmit babesiosis. Because only when the tick begins to suck blood, multiplying piroplasmas form in it. The babesia invade the dog’s red blood cells and multiply there, which destroys the red blood cells (hemolysis). One consequence of this is anemia. In the further course, an untreated babesiosis in the dog often ends fatally.
What are the symptoms of babesiosis?
Depending on the type of babesia, the signs of the disease differed in babesiosis. The pathogens Babesia canis and Babesia gibsoni are particularly relevant for dogs. All infections with these piroplasmas have in common hemolysis and the associated anemia. Due to the increasing lack of red blood cells, there is a lack of oxygen transport in the body. In the long run, this leads to damage to the organs. Especially the heart, liver and kidneys are affected.
About two to three weeks after the tick bite, babesiosis in the dog is manifested by the following symptoms:
poor general condition
Fatigue
Lack of drive
Fever
Reluctance to eat
Weight loss
With increasing anemia due to the destruction of large amounts of red blood cells, signs such as pale mucous membranes and jaundice are added. Jaundice comes because the dead red blood cells decompose. The body converts the red blood pigment (hemoglobin) into the yellowish bilirubin, which increasingly settles in the skin and mucous membranes as well as the eyes. The urine also gets a reddish to brownish color.
With a severe course of the disease, babesiosis leads to the destruction of such large amounts of red blood cells that your dog can suffer a shock. Other complications include:
Organ damage such as kidney failure
Fluid accumulation in the lungs
Shortness of breath and cough
bloody nasal discharge
Paralysis and movement impairment
epileptic seizures
How does the course of the disease behave?
Whether and what symptoms your dog shows in babesiosis depends on the severity of the infection. In addition, various factors influence the course of the disease. These include, in particular:
Age of the dog
possible pre-existing conditions
State of the immune system
Species of Babesia
A young, healthy four-legged friend usually copes with the disease better and shows less pronounced signs of illness than an older or sick animal. If left untreated, however, the acute form of this parasitic disease often ends with the death of the animal.
How can babesiosis be treated?
If your veterinarian suspects canine malaria, they will order a blood test to be sure. Sometimes it is not possible to detect the pathogen with conventional means in the veterinary practice. Then the veterinarian may have to send the blood sample to an external laboratory.
With a diagnosed babesiosis in the dog, treatment with special drugs is carried out. Your veterinarian injects them into the four-legged friend twice at intervals of two weeks each.
If the disease is already very advanced, the veterinarian may have to treat further complications. In the case of severe anemia, for example, the administration of a blood transfusion may be necessary. Other secondary diseases such as kidney or heart damage also receive suitable therapy.
Is babesiosis curable?
Due to the medication, the parasites usually die and the dog recovers completely from the infection in the best case. The prerequisite for this is that the therapy has been started promptly and that no secondary diseases occur.
How to prevent babesiosis
The best protection against babesiosis is good tick prophylaxis. Use special preparations to kill ticks and keep them away. Get advice from a veterinarian.
In addition to tick remedies, regularly scanning your favorite for walks is also part of effective tick protection. Make it a habit to control the animal right after your excursions into the forest and field. Ticks love the humid climate of meadows, forest edges, river lowlands or lakes. Here you should be especially careful. The high season of these bloodsuckers is in spring and autumn. But the tick is extremely robust and adaptable. It even survives night frosts and great heat.
Furthermore, there is a vaccination against babesiosis for dogs. It only works against some species, but still offers some additional protection. In addition, infections are milder as a result. Vaccination is especially important if you want to take your dog with you to countries where babesiosis is common.
Since the transmitting tick species are now also more common in this country, vaccination can generally be advisable. Your veterinarian will be happy to provide you with information about this.
