CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC STUDIES BABESIOSIS OF DOGS
Introduction. Parasitizing babesia in dogs cause morphological changes and dysfunctions of all organs and systems. The recovery dinamics of a sick animal depends on an adequate assessment of its condition, which will allow to prescribe an effective treatment.The goal of the work was to study the peculiarities of clinical manifestation and dynamics of changes in the main blood parameters of dogs in case of babesiosis undergoing treatment in private veterinary clinic in Kharkov.Materials and methods. The study was conducted in 2019 in a private veterinary clinic in Kharkov (Kievsky raion). Babesiosis was diagnosed in 102 dogs by complex examination. Thin smears of capillary blood were examined to confirm the diagnosis and identify babesias. Venous blood was collected for clinical and biochemical studies. The number of erythrocytes, leukocytes, white blood cell (WBC) differential were investigated, the hemoglobin content and some biochemical parameters were determined.Results of research and discussion. The features of the clinical manifestation of the invasion were studied depending on the its intensity. Among the main signs hemoglobinuria, icterus of visible mucous membranes and a sharp increase in the body temperature prevailed. Other clinical signs (weakness, refusal to eat, heavy breathing, shortness of breath, thirst, etc.) were recorded rarely.The veterinary clinic’s protocol includes determination of the severity of invasion in sick dogs using a general clinical blood test and some biochemical parameters, in particular: determination of the number of erythrocytes, hemoglobin content, the parameters of which decrease in case of babesiosis, and a sharp increase in erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is registered. The WBC count reveals an increase in the number of monocytes and a decrease in the number of segmented neutrophils against the decrease in the number of leukocytes. Babesiosis in dogs is accompanied by an increase in total bilirubin and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity, while alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity, creatinine and urea levels were within normal limits.The data described by scientists from different countries generally coincide with each other and our results as well.Conclusions and prospects for further research. Almost 60-70% of sick dogs had two or more clinical signs of babesiosis. Babesiosis is characterized by a decrease in the number of erythrocytes and hemoglobin content by 18.1% (p≤0.05) and 45.3%, respectively, as well as a sharp increase in ESR up to 22.43±2.94 mm/h and monocytosis against a background of leukopenia. The course of babesiosis in all dogs is accompanied by an increase in the amount of total bilirubin by over 10 times (up to 18.77±3.62 μmol/L), and the activity of AST by over 3 times higher than in healthy animals (up to 112.48±6.73 units/l).In the future, it is necessary to continue the study of changes in other hematological parameters under various courses of babesiosis in order to prescribe effective treatment and rapid recovery of dog; to clarify the species composition of Babesia and determine their pathogenicity.