Research Article A Study of Naturally Acquired Canine Babesiosis Caused by Single and Mixed Babesia Species in Zambia: Clinicopathological Findings and Case Management

Copyright © 2015 King Shimumbo Nalubamba et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. A retrospective and prospective analysis of clinical records of dogs diagnosed with Babesia infections was carried out for the years 2000 to 2013 from practices in Lusaka, Zambia. Records of 363 dogs with confirmed Babesia infections were analysed using demographic factors including sex, breed, age, and clinical signs in relation to haematological findings and Babesia species. The clinical and laboratory findings observed are described as well as Babesia species identification. The study included 18 breeds and the highest proportion were mongrels (32.2%), males representing 64.5 % of the population. The most common presenting problemswere anorexia (65.3%) and lethargy/weakness (65.3%).Themost common clinical signs were fever (87.3%), pallor (52.3%), lymphadenopathy (47.4%), and presence of ticks (44.9%). Anaemia (96.4%) and nucleated erythrocytes (42.2%) were the mos