Department of Veterinary Tropical Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, Republic of South Africa.
Parasit Vectors. 2011 Apr 13;4:51. doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-4-51.
Canine babesiosis is a common, highly virulent disease in Southern Africa with even pups and juveniles being severely affected. This contrasts with bovine babesiosis, for example, where host, parasite and vector co-evolved and young animals develop immunity after infection without showing clinical signs. Babesia rossi, the main causative organism of canine babesiosis in sub-Saharan Africa, was first described from a side-striped jackal (Canis adustus) in Kenya. Although data are meagre, there is evidence that indigenous African canids, such as jackals and wild dogs (Lycaon pictus), can harbour the parasite without showing untoward effects. Dogs are not indigenous to Africa. The vast majority of dogs presented at veterinary facilities in South Africa represent recently introduced European, Asian or American breeds. The contention is that B. rossi is a new challenge to which these dogs have not adapted. With intensive treatment of clinical cases, natural selection is effectively negated and the status quo will probably be maintained indefinitely. It is postulated that Babesia vogeli, which frequently results in unapparent infections or mild manifestations in dogs, represents or is closely related to the ancestral form of the canine parasite, possibly originating from wolves (Canis lupus).
犬巴贝斯虫病是南部非洲一种常见且高度致命的疾病，甚至幼犬和幼崽也受到严重影响。这与牛巴贝斯虫病形成鲜明对比，例如，在牛巴贝斯虫病中，宿主、寄生虫和媒介共同进化，幼小动物在感染后会产生免疫力而不表现出临床症状。在撒哈拉以南非洲，导致犬巴贝斯虫病的主要病原体是罗斯氏巴贝斯虫，它最初是在肯尼亚的侧条纹胡狼（Canis adustus）中描述的。尽管数据很少，但有证据表明，非洲本土的犬科动物，如胡狼和野狗（Lycaon pictus），可以携带寄生虫而没有不良影响。狗不是非洲的本土物种。在南非兽医诊所就诊的绝大多数狗都是最近引入的欧洲、亚洲或美洲品种。争论的焦点是，罗斯氏巴贝斯虫对这些狗来说是一个新的挑战，它们还没有适应这种寄生虫。由于对临床病例进行了密集治疗，自然选择实际上被否定了，这种现状可能会无限期地维持下去。据推测，犬巴贝斯虫 vogeli 经常导致犬只出现无症状感染或轻度表现，它代表或与犬寄生虫的原始形式密切相关，可能源自狼（Canis lupus）。
