Babesia spp. were detected from 4 asymptomatic pukus captured on a game ranch in central Zambia in October 2008. Blood smears were examined in 4 species of aymptomatic free-ranging antelopes, namely the puku (Kobus vordanii), reedbuck (Redunca arundinum), bushbuck (Tragelaphus sylvaticus), and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), and showed the presence of Babesia parasites only in the puku. In the puku, the prevalence of babesiosis was estimated at 33.3% (n=12), while the overall prevalence in all examined animals was 8.5% (n=47). The parasites showed morphological characteristics of paired ring-like stages with the length varying between 1.61 microm and 3.02 microm (mean=2.12 microm, n=27; SD=0.76 microm). Both the infected and non-infected pukus showed good body condition scores (BCS), while the dominant tick species detected from all animals were Rhipicephalus appendiculatus, Rhipicephalus spp., and Boophilus spp. To our knowledge this is the first report of Babesia spp. infection in pukus in Zambia. These findings suggest that wildlife could play an important role in the epidemiology of babesiosis in Zambia.
Animals ; Animals, Wild/parasitology ; Antelopes/*parasitology ; Arachnid Vectors/classification ; Asymptomatic Diseases ; Babesia/*isolation & purification/ultrastructure ; Babesiosis/epidemiology/transmission/*veterinary ; Erythrocytes/parasitology ; Prevalence ; Rhipicephalus/classification ; Tick Infestations/epidemiology/parasitology/veterinary ; Ticks/parasitology ; Zambia/epidemiology

Severe tick infestation was found in a hare in a suburban area of Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China. We sampled ticks and identified them based on their morphologic characteristics. Three species, Ixodes sinensis, which is commonly found in China and can experimentally transmit Borrelia burgdorferi, Rhipicephalus haemaphysaloides, and Haemaphysalis longicornis which can transmit Lyme disease were detected with an optical microscope and a stereomicroscope. Risk of spreading ticks from suburban to urban areas exists due to human transportation and travel between the infested and non-infested areas around Nanchang.
Animals ; Arachnid Vectors/*classification/microbiology ; Borrelia burgdorferi/physiology ; China ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Hares/*parasitology ; Humans ; Ixodidae/*classification/microbiology ; Lyme Disease/microbiology/*transmission ; Male ; Risk ; Tick Infestations/parasitology/transmission/*veterinary