Infection with a Proposed New Subspecies ofBabesia canis,Babesia canissubsp.presentii, in Domestic Cats

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Abstract
Parasitemia with a largeBabesiaspecies was identified in two domestic cats from Israel. One cat, also coinfected with feline immunodeficiency virus and “CandidatusMycoplasma haemominutum,” had profound icterus and anemia which resolved after therapy, whereas a second cat was an asymptomatic carrier. Amplification and sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene, followed by phylogenetic analyses, indicated that infection was caused byBabesia canis. However, the sequences of the internal transcribed and 5.8S rRNA regions of the ribosomal operon used for subspeciation ofB. caniswere markedly different from the recognized subspecies ofB. canis, which includeB. canis vogeli,B. canis canis, andB. canis rossi. Based on phylogenetic comparisons of the 18S rRNA gene, 5.8S, and internal transcribed spacer sequences of the isolates from the cats and on the smaller sizes of the merozoite and trophozoite stages of this parasite, which distinguish it from the subspecies ofB. canispresent in dogs, we propose to identify the novel feline genotype ofB. canisdescribed in the present study as a new subspecies,B. canissubsp.presentii.