Abstract:
This study describes a clinical
case of a 9-year-old mixed-breed dog coinfected
with Babesia canis and Borrelia
burgdorferi. This dog was referred to a
private clinic in northeastern Romania for a
recurrent perianal tumour and a mild
inflammation in the right elbow. The dog
showed mild haemolytic anaemia, as well as
increased alkaline phosphatase and glucose
levels. Despite surgery and therapy, after
four days, the patient had developed
hyperthermia, severe anaemia and an
inflammatory syndrome. The blood smear
revealed the presence of piroplasm
organisms identified as ‘large’ Babesia spp.
On the 9th day of hospitalization the patient
died during the blood transfusion, before
applying the specific therapy for babesiosis.
The blood collected before blood transfusion
was tested for the following vector-borne
diseases: Babesia spp., Anaplasma spp.,
Ehrlichia spp., Hepatozoon spp. and
Borrelia spp. using molecular analysis. The
final outcome indicated a co-infection with
Babesia canis and Borrelia burgdorferi s.l.
In conclusion, the introduction of vectorborne
disease screening approach prior any
surgical procedure can prevent lifethreatening
events and improve diagnostic
accuracy in dogs infected/co-infected
simultaneously with different vector-borne
diseases.
