CLINICAL AND SEROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS ON EXPERIMENTAL INFECTIONS WITHBABESIA-CANIS AND ITS DIAGNOSIS USING THE IFAT

Naive Beagle dogs (n = 5) were experimentally inoculated with two stoc ks of Babesia canis. Dogs were examined regularly for parasitaemia and for antibodies, using the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (I FAT). This test proved to be useful for the diagnosis of babesiosis. A fter prime-infection dogs seem to develop a certain degree of immunity , although this immunity is neither absolute nor of long duration. Tre atment of infected dogs with imido carb (6 mg/kg) cleared the infectio n, but did not prevent the production of IFAT-antibodies. An infected dog treated with long acting oxytetracycline (20 mg/kg) become a subcl inical, chronic carrier of the disease.