Résumé
Microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained peripheral blood smears collected from three naturally infected dogs originating from Turkey revealed the presence of large (around 4.5–5.0
μm) intraerythrocytic
Babesia parasites in all dogs. DNA was extracted from the three infected blood samples and an around 410
bp portion of the 18
S rDNA gene of
Babesia species was PCR amplified for subsequent molecular characterization. RFLP analysis of the PCR products suggested the presence of the species
B. vogeli in all infected dogs and sequencing of the PCR products from two of the three samples revealed 100% identity among the two Turkish isolates. Comparisons with the equivalent 410
bp portions of the 18
S rDNA gene of
Babesia species confirmed the affiliation of these isolates to the
B. vogeli species. This is the first report and molecular characterization of dog infection with a large
Babesia species in Turkey.