Babesiose canina: relato de caso

Abstract

The canine babesiosis is a hemoparasitosis commonly diagnosed in the clinical routine of small animals. It is widely distributed and popularly known as "tick disease", in Brazil is predominantly caused by the protozoan Babesia vogeli, having as the main vector transmission through the tick vector Rhipicephalus sanguineus. From its etiopathogenic mechanism, babesiosis promotes clinical signs of mild to severe, considering characteristics of the vertebrate host, such as immunological status, infective load and virulence of the Babesia spp. Strain, has a prognosis that can vary from good to reserved, the patient to death. Given the broad distribution of the vector tick and the importance of canine babesiosis, the present work aimed to make a brief review of the literature, addressing the main factors related to this condition and also report a clinical case, referring to a male canine fertile, with suggestive signs and diagnosed with babesiosis treated at a veterinary clinic in the city of Santo Antônio de Jesus - BA. The dog was treated with imidocarb dipropionate, which resulted in the resolution of clinical signs and improvement of the hematological indices. From this case report we conclude that with early diagnosis and correct treatment, canine babesiosis presents a good prognosis. However, veterinarians should be aware of prophylactic methods, especially in the control of the R. sanguineus vector.