Transmission of Babesia ovis by different Rhipicephalus bursa developmental stages and infected blood injection

In this report, the transmission efficacy of Babesia ovis, the principal causative agent of ovine babesiosis, was studied by infestation of lambs with different Rhipicephalus bursa stages or by injection of infected blood. Infected blood injection induced acute babesiosis in splenectomized lambs, while only mild clinical signs were observed in intact animals. Both splenectomized and intact lambs developed high antibody titer, detectable for at least 180 days post infection. Infestation of splenectomized and intact lambs with infected tick larvae did not induce clinical babesiosis or specific serum response in any of the examined animals. Similarly, infestation of one splenectomized lamb with partially-fed infected R. bursa males did not induce any clinical response or seroconversion. Nymph infestation caused a mild clinical response followed by specific seroconversion, in one out of five lambs. All animals infested with infected unfed adults (males and females) showed mild-to-severe clinical signs 8 to 12 days post infestation. The acute phase was followed by a marked seroconversion. Our results indicate that the principal transmission of B. ovis is performed by adult R. bursa ticks, and that the host reaction can last as long as 6 months following the acute infection.