A Possible Treatment Strategy and Clinical Factors to Estimate the Treatment Response in Bebesia gibsoni Infection

The effectiveness of combination therapy using clindamycin, metronidazole and doxycyline against canine babesiosis, and the usufulness of platelet count and the plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration as an estimation factor for treatment, were evaluated in four dogs experimentally infected with Babesia gibsoni. The combination therapy successfully eliminated B. gibsoni in peripheral blood in 3 of 4 dogs, however remaining dog shouwed obvious uncontrolled relapse after a temporary recovery. In addition, it was shown that CRP levels descreased in an inverse relationship to the recovery of packed cell volume and therefore CRP levels could be used as an optional clinical marker to estimate the response to treatment