Clinical observations of Babesia canis
infection in 63 dogs during a 1-year period are summarised, demonstrating the pathogenicity of the Babesia strain endemic in Hungary. Most patients had
babesiosis in the spring and autumn, correlating with the seasonal activity of ticks. Male animals appeared in higher numbers, probably due to an overrepresentation of outdoor dogs. Uncomplicated
babesiosis was diagnosed in 32 cases. The disease affected dogs of any age in this study. Symptoms were similar to those published from other parts of the world:
lethargy,
fever,
splenomegaly, pallor,
icterus, haemoglobinuria and presence of ticks were the most common observations.
Thrombocytopenia,
lymphopenia and
neutropenia were frequent haemogram changes.
Imidocarb appeared to be highly effective in eliminating the
Babesia infection. Thirty-one animals demonstrated
babesiosis with complications. Most Rottweilers (7/9) developed complicated disease. Old age was a risk factor for multiple complications. Multiple organ manifestations had poor prognosis. Hepatopathy (44%),
pancreatitis (33%),
acute renal failure (ARF; 31%) and
disseminated intravascular coagulation (
DIC; 24%) were frequent complications, while immune-mediated
haemolytic anaemia (IMHA; 10%),
acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS; 6%) and cerebral
babesiosis (3%) were rarely observed. There was a significant difference between the mean age of dogs having uncomplicated disease,
babesiosis with a single complication and
babesiosis with multiple complications (3.4, 4.8 and 8.6 years, respectively, p < 0.001). The recovery rate (78, 68 and 25%, respectively, p = 0.005) and mortality rate (3, 21 and 67%, respectively, p < 0.001) also tended to differ significantly in these groups.
Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and
DIC are two possible pathways leading to
multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (
MODS) in
babesiosis.
DIC was found to predict
MODS more sensitively in this study than SIRS: there were 6 animals developing
MODS out of 11 identified with
DIC, while only 5 dogs developed
MODS out of 22 having SIRS.