Detection of Babesia occultans protozoa in cattle from territory of eastern Poland

Objective: Bovine piroplasmoses are tick-borne protozoan diseases caused by parasites of the genus Theileria and Babesia . The aim of this work was to study the epizootic situation of babesiosis in the cattle population in eastern Poland and possibly to determine which species of protozoa infects Polish cattle. Material, methods and results: Blood samples for molecular analysis (real time PCR) were collected from 192 dairy cattle from various farms located in eastern Poland. The infection was detected in 10.4 % of the samples. All animals were infected with Babesia occultans which sequence of the 18S RNA gene fragment showed a 92.8 % homology with the sequence of B. occultans EU 376017. Conclusion and clinical relevance: This is the first report about the detection of B. occultans DNA in asymptomatic cattle in eastern Poland. The results obtained indicate that the range of these parasites is increasing and that continuous monitoring of babesiosis in cattle in Europe and in Poland is necessary.