DISEASES CAUSED OR CARRIED BY MITES AND TICKS 415 



Philippines, and Australia, according to various authors, and by Boo- 

 philus annulatus australis {microplus) in South America (Lignieres), 

 and B. armulatus decoloratus and Rhipicephalus capensis Koch in Africa. 

 Carpano (1915) suspects Hyalomma aegyptium (Linnaeus) Koch to be 

 the carrier of Babesia annulatum, a synonym of bovis which is recorded 

 as the causative organism of MEDITERRANEAN COAST FEVER OF 

 CATTLE. 



The first contributions to the life history of this organism were made 

 by Smith and Kilborne. It is found in the blood of the animal hosts in 

 the first stage, being inside the red blood cells near its margin, and is 

 non-motile and pale. This single body develops incompletely into two 

 small roundish bodies which are partially connected by a narrow inter- 

 vening strand. In the next stage the minute, double, rounded bodies 

 become enlarged and spindle-shaped. They probably remain attached, 

 however. The two bodies enlarge uniformly and assume a pear-shaped 

 appearance. At this stage of the life cycle, the disease is in its most 

 acute form. The parasites occupy nearly one-fourth of the body of the 

 red blood cells and from 0.5 to 2 per cent of the red cells are usually 

 invaded. The blood cells finally break up, liberating the parasites which 

 may be observed as free bodies in the circulation. The parasites are 

 taken up by the tick, according to Koch, in the red blood cells. In the 

 body of the tick the parasites leave the red cell and become long and 

 club-shaped. From the club pseudopodia project. This club then be- 

 comes spherical and immense numbers of amoeba-like forms appear, which 

 are said to grow into clubs. The disease can only be transmitted by 

 seed ticks, that is, by the first stage of the tick. The adult tick which 

 sucked up the infected blood drops to the ground and lays its eggs. The 

 organism passes into the eggs and is transmitted to other animals by the 

 offspring of the tiok which became infected. The disease can be given 

 to a host almost immediately after attachment. The tick remains on 

 the animal throughout its development (Mohler 1905). 



Babesia caballi (Nuttall), the cause of EQUINE BILIARY FEVER, 

 is considered by Marzinowski and Bielitzer (1909) to be carried by Der- 

 macentor reticulatus (Fabricius) Koch in Russia. According to Valla- 

 dares (1914), there is a possibility that Hyalomma aegyptium (Lin- 

 naeus) Koch is the carrier in India. 



Babesia canis (Plana and Galli-Valerio) the cause of a CANINE 

 BABESIASIS, also known as MALIGNANT JAUNDICE OF DOGS, is 

 transmitted by several ticks. The life cycle has been traced in Rhipiceph- 

 alus sanguineus (Latreille) Koch by Christophers in India (fig. 78). 

 Lounsbury proved the transmission of the disease in South Africa by 

 Haemaphysalis leachi (Audouin) Neumann. According to various au- 

 thors Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius) Koch carried the disease in 



