Piroplasms Babesia bigemina - Agent of Texas Cattle fever. This important parasite of cattle has a similar life cycle to Plasmodium only no tissue stages occur in the vertebrate animal. Infection involves only RBCs. Babesiosis is a tick transmitted disease with transovarial and transstadial transmission occurring. Clinical signs in the bovine are related to RBC loss due to parasite multiplication.
Occasional complications occur with cerebral forms.
Infections are often more pathogenic for adult animal than young. Texas cattle fever is eradicated from the U.S. but constant surveillance of our southern border is necessary. There are many species of Babesia which infect other animals including horses, dogs, cats wildlife, and humans. Babesia sp . B. canis infections are endemic to the U.S. while B. gibsoni is known primarily from northern Africa and the Far East.