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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 2004, p. 99-105, Vol. 42, No. 1
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.1.99-105.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Infection with a Proposed New Subspecies of Babesia canis, Babesia canis subsp. presentii, in Domestic Cats

Gad Baneth,1* Martin J. Kenny,2 Séverine Tasker,2 Yigal Anug,3 Varda Shkap,4 Amos Levy,5 and Susan E. Shaw2

School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University, Rehovot 76100,1 Pathovet Veterinary Pathology Services, Kfar Bilu B 76965,3 Division of Parasitology, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan,4 Mevasseret Veterinary Clinic, Mevasseret Zion, Israel,5 Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford, Somerset BS40 5DU, United Kingdom2

Received 23 June 2003/ Returned for modification 19 August 2003/ Accepted 5 October 2003

Parasitemia with a large Babesia species was identified in two domestic cats from Israel. One cat, also coinfected with feline immunodeficiency virus and "Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum," had profound icterus and anemia which resolved after therapy, whereas a second cat was an asymptomatic carrier. Amplification and sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene, followed by phylogenetic analyses, indicated that infection was caused by Babesia canis. However, the sequences of the internal transcribed and 5.8S rRNA regions of the ribosomal operon used for subspeciation of B. canis were markedly different from the recognized subspecies of B. canis, which include B. canis vogeli, B. canis canis, and B. canis rossi. Based on phylogenetic comparisons of the 18S rRNA gene, 5.8S, and internal transcribed spacer sequences of the isolates from the cats and on the smaller sizes of the merozoite and trophozoite stages of this parasite, which distinguish it from the subspecies of B. canis present in dogs, we propose to identify the novel feline genotype of B. canis described in the present study as a new subspecies, B. canis subsp. presentii.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Veterinary Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, P.O. Box 12, Rehovot 76100, Israel. Phone: 972-3-9688588. Fax: 972-3-9604079. E-mail: Baneth{at}agri.huji.ac.il.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, January 2004, p. 99-105, Vol. 42, No. 1
0095-1137/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JCM.42.1.99-105.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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