Comparative evaluation of different diagnostic tests for B. gibsoni in dogs

Babesia gibsoni is the common cause of canine babesiosis in India. Its diagnosis by conventional diagnostic methods result in false negative condition, particularly in those cases in which parasitemia is low. Therefore the present study employed IFAT and PCR along with microscopic examination to overcome this situation. Microscopic examination of Giemsastained blood smears revealed presence of small pear-shaped, oval or signet ring shaped B. gibsoni within the erythrocytes of 1.34 % dogs. IFAT and PCR detected a total of 1.80 % and 1.82 % dogs positive for B. gibsoni, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of IFAT was 93.10% and 88.89%, respectively whereas, sensitivity and specificity of microscopic examination was 71.26% and 95.56%, respectively. The agreement of IFAT and microscopic examination with PCR was 82.30% and 60.73%, respectively. The agreement between IFAT and microscopy was 60.99%. Therefore, IFAT is considered to be highly sensitive test for diagnosing B. gibsoni in subclinically or chronically infected dogs with significantly low level of parasitemia.