Seroprevalence survey of Babesia gibsoni infection and tick species in dogs in East China

- A total of 1170 dogs from East China were examined with Babesia gibsoni infection and the seroprevalence was 9.23%.
- The dominant ticks in the dogs were identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Haemaphysalis longicornis and Rhipicephalus hemaphysaloides.
- Canine B. gibsoni infection has a widespread geographic distribution throughout East China.

A seroprevalence survey of Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs in East China was conducted using an ELISA with recombinant B. gibsoni thrombospondin-related adhesive protein (BgTRAP). A total of 1170 dogs from East China were examined and the seroprevalence was 9.23%. The proportion of samples was 81.2%, 7.86% and 10.94% from pet, working and fighting dogs, respectively. The fighting dogs showed highest seroprevalence (39.8%) compared with working dogs (26.1%) and pet dogs (3.47%). These results indicate that B. gibsoni infection of dogs has a widespread geographic distribution throughout East China. The dominant ticks collected from the dogs were identified as Rhipicephalus sanguineus (65.57%), Haemaphysalis longicornis (21.58%) and Rhipicephalus hemaphysaloides (10.7%). Besides adult, larval and nymph stages of ticks were also recorded on dogs. This is the first report of seroprevalence of canine B. gibsoni infection and tick species in dogs in China.