Premium
BOVINE BABESIOSIS: COMPARISON OF FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY AND GIEMSA STAINING IN POST‐MORTEM DIAGNOSIS OF INFECTION
Author(s) -
JOHNSTON, L. A. Y.,
TRUEMAN, K. F.,
PEARSON, R. D.
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.1977.tb00192.x
Subject(s) - giemsa stain , staining , pathology , blood smear , lung , medicine , kidney , direct fluorescent antibody , babesia bigemina , biology , antibody , babesia , malaria , immunology
SUMMARY Following experimental infections of cattle, Babesia argentina was detected in smears of heart, lung and kidney, immediately, and up to 8 hours post‐mortem (PM), using Giemsa staining, while smears of brain were positive for up to 28 hours after death. Direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) staining detected B. argentina in heart and lung smears for 12 hours, in kidney smears for 16 hours, and in brain smears for 28 hours after death. Following experimental infections with B. bigemina , this organism could be recognised morphologically in smears of heart, lung and kidney immediately after death, but by one hour and up to 8 hours PM, its morphology resembled B. argentina in Giemsa stained films. A few red blood cells inside and outside brain capillaries were infected with organisms resembling B. argentina up to 16 hours after death. DFA staining detected B. bigemina in heart and lung smears for 12, and in kidney smears for 16 hours after death. A few infected red blood cells inside and outside capillaries were also seen in brain smears 16 hours after death. Organ smears could be held at 22°C for 5 days and both species of Babesia detected by either Giemsa or DFA staining.B. argentina was diagnosed by Giemsa staining of organ smears from 27 field cases of babesiosis. DFA confirmed B. argentina in 22, identified B. bigemina in 3 and failed to detect parasites in the other 2 cases. B. argentha was diagnosed by Giemsa staining in 10 and B. bigemina in 1 blood film from field cases. DFA confirmed B. argentina in 4 cases and B. bigemina in the 1 case. Serum from 5 of 12 animals which died in the field from natural B. argenfina infec‐ tions, had fluorescent antibody titres 2 64. After an experimental primary blood infection with B. argentina and while parasites were still detectable, 18 of 72 cattle had titres 2 64. Because there was no significant statistical difference between these results, it was con‐ cluded that the 12 field cases were due to primary infections, not recrudescences or hetero‐ logous strains or variants.