Experimental Babesia rossi infection data
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This includes supplementary data with the statistical analysis as well as the original data for independent assessment.
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This was a prospective longitudinal observational study that included six purpose bred sterilised male beagle dogs. One dog was splenectomised and used to raise a viable parasite inoculum from cryopreserved wild type Babesia rossi. The remaining five dogs were experimentally infected with either a high or low dose Babesia rossi parasite inoculum. The five dogs finally infected with the Babesia rossi inoculum acted as their own baseline controls, with samples collected from each dog at 2 separate time points prior to infection. Study population There were six purpose bred intact male beagle dogs. All dogs were permanently identified by unique microchip implantation (Back Home®, Virbac, South Africa) Inclusion criteria for splenectomised dog: The dog was clinically healthy, clinical variables (temperature, pulse, respiration rate, abdominal palpation, capillary refill time and mucous membrane colour, haematology and biochemistry) were within normal. The dog was free from Babesia rossi or any other regional blood-borne parasitic infections (Confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and reverse line blotting (PCR-RLB) prior to experimental infection). All vaccinations and deworming were current. Exclusion criteria for dog to be splenectomised: Co-infection with other blood parasitic infections namely Theileria sp., Anaplasma sp. and Ehrlichia sp. (Evaluated by PCR prior to experimental infection). Sample method The five dogs meeting the necessary inclusion criteria were included in the study and randomly assigned to either a low infectious dose (LD) group or high infectious dose (HD). Sample size The 5 spleen-whole dogs were subject to sample collection for baseline control data. These dogs were then randomly divided into 2 groups: LD group: Dogs experimentally infected with a low dose (104 infected red blood cells) of Babesia rossi parasite inoculum 2 dogs were allocated to this group. HD group: Dogs experimentally infected with a high dose (108 infected red blood cells) of Babesia rossi parasite inoculum 3 dogs were allocated to this group.