Retrospective study (1998-2001) on canine babesiosis in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The present work describes a retrospective study of clinical cases of babesiosis in dogs examined at the Veterinary Hospital (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais) from March 1998 to September 2001. From the clinical records of dogs with laboratory-confirmed Babesia canis infections, we analyzed: demography (age, breed, sex, time of year, and origin; clinical manifestations (concomitant infections, body temperature, presence of ticks, and clinical signs); and hematological alterations. From 194 records from animals with suspicious cases of hemoparasites, 145 were confirmed to be infected and among those 61 dogs (42%) were infected with B. canis. The results point to the importance of canine babesiosis in Brazil.