Trends in Parasitology | Parasite of the Month

Babesia bovis
Hassan Hakimi 1,
* and Guilherme G. Verocai 1,
*
1
Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

KEY FACTS:
Hosts: Cattle (Bos taurus, B. taurus
indicus), water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).
Sporozoite
Tick vectors: R. microplus,
Ring form Rhipicephalus annulatus, and possibly
S porogony
Rhipicephalus geigyi.

B. bovis has three genomes: an 8.2 Mb

Merogony nuclear genome (encoding ~3900
Salivary gland
genes), a ~6 kb linear mitochondrial
Infected tick larva
genome, and a 33 kb apicoplast
genome.

B. bovis divides asexually by binary

Ovary fission within erythrocytes and has a
Binary form
~12 h doubling time. The export of
Egress
parasite-encoded proteins into
Kinete erythrocytes leads to ridge formation and
Gamogony
sequestration.

Zygote Committed gametocyte

Continuous in vitro culture and several
genetic tools – for example, the clustered
Gametes regularly interspaced short palindromic
"Ray bodies"
repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9 system – are
available to study parasite biology and
parasite–host interactions.
Trends in Parasitology

DISEASE FACTS:
Babesia bovis is an economically important, obligate intracellular protozoan that causes the most pathogenic form
European cattle are more susceptible to
of bovine babesiosis. It occurs in Asia, Africa, Australia, and in Central, South, and southern North America, and
infection than zebu cattle. Clinical signs
parts of southern Europe. Rhipicephalus microplus is its most important vector. Infected female ticks produce
include fever, anorexia, and
infected offspring (transovarial transmission), which are the main source of transmission to cattle. Its life cycle con-
hemolytic anemia.
tains an asexual replication in cattle erythrocytes, a sexual replication in the tick midgut, and an asexual replication in
tick salivary glands. Younger animals have increased resistance compared with adults. This spleen-dependent re-
Cerebral babesiosis, respiratory
sistance is attributed to a strong innate immunity. Prevention relies on the use of acaricides and live attenuated vac-
distress, and mortality are associated
cines, available in some endemic countries. Vaccinated animals or those recovered from infection develop adaptive
with sequestration of infected
immunity, but they remain infected and may serve as reservoirs for transmission.
erythrocytes in brain and lung capillaries.
Mortality may reach 80% in susceptible
animals.

Diagnosis relies on examination of

Giemsa-stained smears of blood or
organ (brain, kidney, or liver). Nucleic
acid detection and serological tests are
used for research and surveillance.

Anti-Babesia drugs (i.e., diminazene

aceturate, imidocarb dipropionate) are
available but may leave residues in meat
and milk.

TAXONOMY AND CLASSIFICATION:

PHYLUM: Apicomplexa
CLASS: Aconoidasida
ORDER: Babesia sensu stricto
FAMILY: Babesiidae
GENUS: Babesia
Trends in Parasitology
SPECIES: B. bovis

Trends in Parasitology, Month 2023, Vol. xx, No. xx © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2023.05.003 1
Trends in Parasitology | Parasite of the Month
Acknowledgments *Correspondence:
Figures 1 and 2 were created with Biorender.com. hhakimi@cvm.tamu.edu (H. Hakimi) and
gverocai@cvm.tamu.edu (G.G. Verocai).

Declaration of interests
The authors declare no competing interests.

Resources
https://piroplasmadb.org/piro/app
www.cdc.gov/parasites/babesiosis/
www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/bovine_babesiosis.pdf

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2 Trends in Parasitology, Month 2023, Vol. xx, No. xx © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pt.2023.05.003