HAEMATO-BIOCHEMICAL CHANGES AND THERAPEUTIC MANAGEMENT OF BABESIOSIS IN CATTLE

Babesiosis is a tick-borne, intraerythrocytic protozoan parasitic infection that causes significant morbidity and mortality in wide range of domestic and wild animals (Gray and Murphy, 1985). It is the most important disease of cattle worldwide and transmitted by blood-sucking ticks of the Ixodidae family (hard ticks). The most prevalent species, Babesia bovis and Babesia bigemina, are found throughout most tropical and subtropical regions. Due to universal distribution of the ixodid tick, babesiosis is considered as the second most widespread blood-borne disease of animals (Homer et al., 2000) and is prominently gaining increasing interest as an emerging zoonosis of humans (Homer et al., 2000 and Zintlet al., 2003). The economic losses from these two organisms can be considerable, particularly in developing countries