Drogi szerzenia się babeszjozy u zwierząt

Babesiosis is a protozoan, tickborne disease of mammals and birds caused by the parasites of the genus Babesia. The pathogen is transmitted by ticks as its final host. Moreover, large Babesia species are transmitted transovarially, and in this way next generation of ticks is carrying the parasite. Infected ticks are spread among animals, and many studies showed that migratory birds play an important role in transmission of both, vectors and babesiosis. It was also shown that in some mammals babesiae are transmitted transplacentally, and this is apparently the major route of infection in voles. Other way of passing the infection was identified in fighting dogs. It is speculated, that during dogfighting the exchange of blood from wounds of animals may lead to infection. However, oral route of passing babesiosis cannot be excluded. It was confirmed in mice after administration of blood, corpses of mice and also ticks carrying Babesia microti or Babesia canis. Beside these routes, there is also possible iatrogenic way of parasite transmission during blood transfusion, organ transplantation or with contaminated instruments. This article presents current data on the spreading of Babesia spp. in non-endemic geographical regions.