THE PIROPLASMASIDA 



291 



inates all parasites, but in small ones it 

 leaves some so that recovered animals 

 are premunized (Kikuth, 1938). It affects 

 the parasympathetic nervous system, and 

 may cause alarming reactions, including 

 salivation, vasodilation, sweating, copious 

 urination, diarrhea, panting, a drop in 

 blood pressure and even collapse and 

 death. Adrenaline and calcium gluconate 

 can be given as antidotes. To avoid such 

 reactions, the drug is often given in 2 or 

 3 divided doses a few hours apart. Dogs 

 are much more sensitive than cattle. 

 Animals showing reactions usually recover 

 rather quickly. Despite these reactions, 

 acaprin is still one of the most widely used 

 drugs for treating babesiosis in all animals 

 thruout the world. 



Lourie and York (1939) found that a 

 number of aromatic diamidines were ef- 

 fective against Babesia. Adler and 

 Tchernomoretz (1940) found that stilbam- 

 idine (4, 4'-diamidinostilbene) was effec- 

 tive against 5. bigemina, and fi. ovis, 

 and it is also used for B. canis and B. 

 caballi (Daubney and Hudson, 1941). 

 Propamidine (4, 4'-diamidino-l, 3-diphen- 

 oxypropane) has been used against B. 

 caiiis in dogs (Carmichael and Fiennes, 

 1941). Pentamidine (lomidine; 4,4'- 

 diamidino-1, 5-diphenoxypentane) is used 

 quite widely, especially in North Africa, 

 for babesiosis in all animals. Phenami- 

 dine (4, 4'-diamidinodiphenyl ether) was 

 introduced by Carmichael (1942) for canine 

 babesiosis and is now used in cattle and 

 other animals as well. Berenil (4,4'- 

 diamidino diazoaminobenzene diaceturate) 

 was introduced by Bauer (1955), and is 

 effective against babesiosis in cattle, dogs 

 and other animals. Amicarbalide (M & B 

 5062A; 3, 3'-diamidinocarbanilide di- 

 isethionate) was introduced by Ashley, 

 Berg and Lucas (1960). Preliminary 

 studies indicate that it is effective against 

 babesiosis in cattle (Beveridge, Thwaite 

 and Shepherd, 1960; Lucas, 1960). 



The diamidines are injected subcutan- 

 eously or intramuscularly, depending upon 

 the compound. Many of them tend to cause 

 a fall in blood pressure, but it soon re- 

 turns to normal. Subcutaneous injection 

 of concentrated solutions may cause ir- 



ritation. Transitory swelling of the face 

 and lips which is anaphylactic in nature 

 sometimes occurs with phenamidine. 



Prevention and Control : Since babesi- 

 osis is transmitted by ticks, prevention 

 and control depend primarily on tick elim- 

 ination. This can be done by regular dip- 

 ping, which should be carried out on an 

 area basis for livestock, at least. Dogs 

 and riding horses can be treated individ- 

 ually. 



Artificial premunization of young an- 

 imals has been practiced with a good deal 

 of success, especially in North Africa 

 (Sergent et al. , 1945). A mild strain of 

 the organism is ordinarily used. This 

 practice is not necessary if the animals 

 are raised in an endemic area where they 

 will all become naturally infected at an 

 early age, but it is worthwhile in areas 

 where only a certain proportion of the 

 animals become infected or for animals 

 which are destined to be shipped to endemic 

 areas later on. 



Fig. 34. Bovine species of Babesia in eryth- 

 rocytes. A. , B. , C. , D. Babesia 

 bigemina. E. , F. , G. Babesia 

 bonis. H. , I. Babesia divergens. 

 X 2800. (A., B. , C, D. after 

 Nuttall and Graham -Smith, 1908 

 in Pavasitology . published by Cam- 

 bridge Univ. Press; E. , F. , G., 

 H. , I. after Davies, Joyner and 

 Kendall, 1958 in Annals of Trop- 

 ical Medicine and Hygiene, pub- 

 lished by Liverpool School of 

 Tropical Medicine). 



