Babesiosis - the facts

Babesiosis is a deadly blood disease affecting horses and donkeys working overseas, and can kill in a matter of days.

Microscopic parasites – Babesia –  are transmitted into the red blood cells of a horse or donkey by ticks, which are most common during the summer.

How does Babesiosis affect an animal?

A horse or donkey suffering from Babesiosis will become emaciated, and will suffer from sudden sweating, fever, weakness in its hind limbs, debility and will have blood in their urine. Affected animals will become reluctant to move, and will often stop eating.

Sadly, the animal may die just one or two days after the first signs are seen.

Is Babesiosis treatable?

A simple blood test can detect Babesiosis, and a single injection of Imizol will treat it before it becomes life threatening. A hygienic environment, fresh air and a consistent climate are also important for the animal to regain health.

What does Brooke do to help?

Brooke teams give veterinary treatment to horses and donkeys suffering from Babesiosis, so that they can recover from this devastating disease.

But even more important are the training and awareness programmes we run, which encourage animal owners and users to groom their animals daily so that ticks can be located and removed from the animal’s body.

Many owners will never have groomed their horse or donkey before, so our teams give practical demonstrations and hands-on training, and show them which parts of the body are most prone to ticks, such as between the legs, under the tail, and in the mane and ears.

Owners are also shown how to recognise the main signs of the disease, and advised of the importance of seeking qualified veterinary treatment – rather than trying to treat the animal themselves, or taking it to an untrained health provider.

And what are the results?

And our messages on grooming have other benefits too – not only does grooming help owners build up more of a relationship with their animal, but they are also more likely to detect other problems such as wounds and sores.