PREVALENCE OF BABESIOSIS IN CATTLE IN CHITTAGONG DISTRICT OF BANGLADESH

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of Babesiosis in cattle in Chittagong district of Bangladesh during the period of March to August 2017. During this study period a total of 63 cattle were examined from three representative areas in two consecutive seasons and 8 were found positive with Babesia spp. On Giemsa stained blood smear examination, the overall 12.7 % (N=63) prevalence of babesiosis in cattle was recorded. The effect of topography, season, age, sex, flooring type and economic status of farmer was observed in cattle during this study. The prevalence of Babesiosis was recorded 13.3 % (n=45) and 11.1% (n=18) in crossbred and indigenous cattle, respectively. Babesiosis was apparently predominant in summer season (15.8%) (n=38) followed by rainy season (8%) (n=25). Apparently adult cattle were susceptible to babesiosis than younger and female animals were more susceptible to infections than male. It can be stated that breed and season were the important predictor of Babesiosis. Further recommendation for molecular detection and characterization along with identification of tick vectors in the study areas will assist towards necessary preventive measures.