300 



THE PIROPLASMASIDA 



Morphology : This is a large form, 

 the trophozoites being 2. 5 to 4 ^ long and 

 1. 5 to 2;i wide. They are oval, piriform, 

 or less commonly round. They often occur 

 in pairs. The host cells usually contain 

 1 to 4 or occasionally 5 to 6 parasites. 

 From a very few to 65% of the erythro- 

 cytes may be invaded. 



Life Cycle : The vector is Rhipiceph- 

 alus soiiiiiiiiieus (syn. , R. tiiraniciis). 

 Transmission occurs thru the egg. Other 

 ticks have also been incriminated. 



Pathogenesis: This species may 

 cause either a mild disease or a fatal one 

 with fever, listlessness, inappetence, 

 anemia, hemoglobinuria, icterus, edema 

 and incoordination. Infected sows may 

 abort. The spleen is enlarged and en- 

 gorged, the liver is enlarged, there are 

 pulmonary, renal and gastrointestinal 

 hyperemia and edema, petechiae are 

 present on the serous membranes, and 

 there are subepicardial and subendocar- 

 dial hemorrhages. 



Treatment : Trypan blue, acaprin 

 and phenamidine are all effective. Aca- 

 prin is injected subcutaneously, 2 ml of a 

 5% solution being administered per 100 kg 

 to large pigs and 1 ml of a 0. 5% solution 

 per 10 kg to small pigs. Lawrence and 

 Shone (1955) injected phenamidine sub- 

 cutaneously at the rate of 1. 5 ml of a 40% 

 aqueous solution per 100 pounds body 

 weight. 



Prevention and Control : Same as for 

 other babesioses. 



BABESIA PERRONCITOI 

 (CERRUTI, 1939) 



Synonym : Babesiella perronciloi. 



Host : Pig. 



Location: Erythrocytes. 



Geographic Distribution : Europe 

 (Sardinia), French Sudan. 



Morphology : This is a small form. 

 It is usually annular, 0.7 to 2 /j, in diam- 



eter, with a thin ring of cytoplasm sur- 

 rounding a vacuole, but it may also be 

 oval, quadrangular, lanceolate or piriform, 

 measuring 1. 2 to 2. 6 by 0. 7 to 1. 9 |i. The 

 trophozoites usually occur singly in the 

 host cells, but sometimes 2 or more may 

 be present. 



Life Cycle: The vector is unknown. 



Pathogenesis : The disease caused 

 by this species is similar to that caused 

 by B. tranhtimiiii. 



Treatment : Acaprin is effective 

 against this species, but trypan blue is 

 presumably not. 



BABESIA CANIS 



(PIANA AND GALLI-VALERIO, 1895) 



Synonyms: Pyrosoma higeminum 

 var. cants, Piroplasnia canis, Babesia 

 rossi, Rosslella rossi, Babesia vilalii, 

 Rangelia vitalii. 



Disease : Canine babesiosis, canine 

 piroplasmosis, biliary fever, malignant 

 jaundice, nambiuvu. 



Hosts : Dog, wolf, side-striped 

 jackal {Thos adiistus), black-backed jackal 

 (T. iiieso)tielas). In addition, the red fox, 

 and jackal {Canis Inpaster) have been in- 

 fected experimentally. However, Thomas 

 and Brown (1934) were unable to infect the 

 cat even after splenectomy. 



Location : Erythrocytes. 



Geographic Distribution : North 

 America (Florida, Virginia, Texas, Puerto 

 Rico), Central America, South America, 

 southern Europe, USSR, Africa, Asia. 



Prevalence : This parasite is com- 

 mon in many tropical regions. It is un- 

 common in the U.S. , but has been reported 

 from Florida by Eaton (1934) and Sanders 

 (1937), from Texas by Merenda (1939) and 

 from Virginia by Grogan (1953). 



Morphology : This is a large form. 

 The trophozoites are piriform and 4 to 

 5/i long, or amoeboid and 2 to 4jj. in 



