BACKGROUND:
Babesia is a protozoan blood parasite that destroys red blood cells. It can be in a chronic form (a long, mildly debilitating disease, where your dog always seems a little bit off), or it can take an acute form. Many dogs suffer from chronic babesia without our even knowing about it. For every dog that gets the acute form, there are probably 20 dogs that have a mild, chronic case.

SIGNS TO LOOK FOR:
Again, babesia is a blood parasite. It is generally transported through the bites of ticks, fleas, biting flies, etc., but IT CAN ALSO BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH ACCIDENTAL FIGHTING CONTACT. Anything from 10 days to 3 weeks will pass before any symptoms crop up from exposure, because the disease takes about that long to multiply and spread. Trouble starts when the disease gets to a point where it is eating more red blood cells than your dog's body can manufacture. At this time, the dog will develop a fever, sometimes over 105 degrees. He will then stop eating and drinking. His tongue and gums will become pale as his red blood cells are being destroyed by the parasite faster than the body can replace them. Symptoms of the chronic form are pale gums, anorexia, muscle wasting, but not at the emergency level. Symptoms of the acute form are unmistakable. The dog won't eat; his gums are bone-white (or even yellow); he can hardly walk, etc. Their urine is a red-orange when they pee. If your dog has the acute symptoms, and you value his life, you will act immediately and get him to your vet. PRINT THIS PAGE AND BRING IT TO YOUR VET TO SHOW HIM. Make sure your vet tells you the blood (red cell) count of your dog. If your dog's red blood cell count falls below 12 (normal is 35-46), then he needs A BLOOD TRANSFUSION to save his life, and YOU NEED TO DO IT RIGHT THEN AND THERE. If you can afford Bio-Pure (artificial blood), this is preferred because the babesia can't attack it, then use that. Regular blood will still be attacked by the babesia, and will eventually be destroyed by it. But, either way, a blood transfusion will be required for a dog with a blood count less than 12 to save his life, so you need to determine what that count is as soon as possible. If he needs a transfusion, using Bio-Pure will bide you the necessary time you need to get the required drugs to zap the babesia, but remember you must MONITOR his blood count every third day after that. Don't just take the PCV once, because remember your dogs red blood cells are CONTINUALLY being eaten away by the babesia.

It takes a competent vet to recognize babesia, and you should therefore specifically ask for a babesia test to be done if your dog seems to be losing red blood cells for no explainable reason. However, be careful because this disease is often incorrectly diagnosed by vets as Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia. When a vet says your dog has "autoimmune hemolytic anemia," what he is really saying is "I have no idea of why your dog is losing his red blood cells," and simply can't recognize babesia for what it is. There are two strains of babesia that affect dogs:

1)       Babesia Canis

2)      Babesi Gibsoni.

You need your vet to tell you which of the two strains he has, because it matters in how you treat your dog. The Canis version can be halted with injections of Imizol – know locally as Foray, which can also prevent infection. Gibsoni on the other hand is the more resistant strain and requires the use of drugs discussed later. In addition to getting a routine blood smear you should get an IN-HOUSE PCV (Packed Cell Volume) blood count done on your dog at your vet in order to verify which strain of babesia you are dealing with.

Please take note that the following drugs can be hard to find and somewhat expensive (hell yes), but they are the most frequently used ones to handle this problem: THIS STUFF WORKS PEOPLE, USE IT!!!

These are the latest drugs that effect a CURE of babesia, whereas originally babesia was thought to be only knocked into remission. Below are some of the treatments available to you whilst you are searching for the Atovaquone/Azithromycin combo. The following drugs should knock babesia into remission:  

If you do not have any of these specialized drugs on hand, then try any of the mainstream antibiotics listed below until you can acquire the necessary drugs:

Try to combine at least two of the above medications for 2-3 weeks, but even one is better than none. These medications are easy to come by, and I have been told for a fact Doxycycline can knock the bugger out by itself in some cases.

When your dog recovers, give him/her a minimum of 3 months total rest. Get him plump and healthy, with plenty of good food, vitamins, clean water, and no stress. Stress can cause a relapse. With babesia, if the dog can survive the first month, he will recover - but will now be a carrier (unless cured).

VERY IMPORTANT

If you want to breed a suspected babesia dog give the OTHER dog a shot of Imizol (Foray) first, which will act as a vaccine and prevent infection.

Please give a copy of this to your vet so he is conversant on what to do for this exotic disease. Remember, many, many dogs have babesia but we don't know it. The above is solid info, but if you try any of the recommendations here you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. I make no warranties or claims here.

You can also call Dr. Adam Birkenheuer at the University of North Carolina at (919) 513-6357 for the most up-to-date information.

I would like to thank California Jack for the above information as well as all the Kennels, Veterinarians and Specialists that assisted me with this nasty bug.

This is a Case Study of a pup diagnosed with Babesi Gibsoni

The pup was taken to the vet for routine vaccinations; the only indication that there was something ‘fishy’ was a slight increase in temperature. At this stage the pup was showing no signs that are displayed with the chronic/acute form. The pup was eating normally and gaining weight, had normal energy levels and was showing no signs of pale gums or anorexia. A blood smear was done in order to evaluate why the pup had a slightly higher than normal temperature. Once, this along with a PCV test was evaluated, it was determined that the pup had Babesia Gibsoni. This was then sent to Onderstepoort for further analysis and verification. The pup was put on a dose of Berenil and was to receive a new smear in 3 days.

The pup was then taken back to the vet for a new smear and to see how the Berenil had reacted to the parasite. There was a definite decrease in the parasite however it was still there. The decision to wait until the Berenil had completed its course before starting the Foray was taken. Again, after a week the Foray was administered and after a few days had passed, another smear was done. However, we noticed that the Foray had done just about nothing to this parasite, it was still there.

It is important to note that after 3 weeks since initial diagnosis the pup was still showing absolutely no signs of illness. The pup had gained some substantial weight, the coat was shiny and healthy and the pup was displaying all the energy levels pups at that age display.

A decision was made to follow the Atovaquone/Azithromycin route and on the 14^th of October 2004 the pup underwent treatment. 

Update: 29th October 2004:- The pup completed the 10 day course of Atovaquone/Azithromycin and was returned to the Vet on the 25th of October 2004. I am EXTREMELY HAPPY to report that the blood smear revealed zero parasites and that the reticular cells were normal. A blood sample was sent to Onderstepoort for a PCV test to varify the above result. The pup also showed none of the side effects listed above with the Atovaquone/Azithromycin combo.

Update: 12th November 2004:- I returned the pup to the Vet for vaccinations and two more blood smears were done. Once again the smears came up negative, there were no signs of the parasite and all other cells were functioning normally.

Update: 18th April 2005:- I Another PCV test was done and I'm happy to report that no parasites were detected.

Update: 3rd March 2006:- Yet Another PCV test was done and yet again I'm happy to report that no parasites were detected.