What it is
Babesia are single-celled parasites spread by ticks, dog bites and, in the US, especially among fighting-breed dogs and greyhounds. They invade red blood cells, and the immune response to them causes hemolytic anemia that can look exactly like IMHA. Babesia gibsoni is the species most often found in American pit bull terriers; B. canis vogeli occurs in greyhounds.1 Because Babesia can be passed through blood, blood banks screen donors for it, and it's one reason a donor's history matters.2
Warning signs
Why transfusions
Treatment is antiparasitic drugs; for B. gibsoni, a combination of atovaquone and azithromycin cleared infection in most dogs in the study that established it.3 Severely anemic dogs need red cell transfusions while the drugs work. Testing for Babesia before starting immunosuppression is important, because steroids alone can make a Babesia-infected dog worse.
How you can help
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Research and references
Peer-reviewed sources for what's on this page. Each link runs a PubMed search for the paper so you land on the abstract, and often the full text.
- 1Solano-Gallego L, Baneth G. Babesiosis in dogs and cats: expanding parasitological and clinical spectra Vet Parasitol. 2011;181(1):48-60. PubMed
- 2Wardrop KJ, Birkenheuer A, Blais MC, et al. Update on canine and feline blood donor screening for blood-borne pathogens J Vet Intern Med. 2016;30(1):15-35. PubMed
- 3Birkenheuer AJ, Levy MG, Breitschwerdt EB. Efficacy of combined atovaquone and azithromycin for therapy of chronic Babesia gibsoni (Asian genotype) infections in dogs J Vet Intern Med. 2004;18(4):494-498. PubMed