First report of Babesia divergens in Tunisia

A. Bouattour (1) , M. A. Darghouth (2)

1 Laboratoire d'Entomologie Médicale [Tunis, Tunisie]
2 École Nationale de Médecine Vétérinaire de Sidi Thabet

Babesia divergens of bovine origin was isolated, for the first time in Tunisia, from a cow of a local breed (Bos taurus) from a locality in the north-west of the country. Gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were used for the isolation of the parasite which was inoculated into a splenectomised Friesian calf that developed a babesiosis, thus confirming the presence of the parasite.

Keywords: Ixodes ricinus; Tunisia; Babesia divergens; Cattle-Protozoa

Domains: Parasitology; Veterinary medicine and animal Health

A. Bouattour, M. A. Darghouth. First report of Babesia divergens in Tunisia. Veterinary Parasitology, 1996, 63 (1-2), pp.161-165. ⟨10.1016/0304-4017(95)00880-2⟩. ⟨pasteur-02050578⟩