Flow Cytometric Enumeration of Reticulocyte in the Peripheral Blood from Canine infected with Babesia gibsoni

Abstract
Summary: Peripheral blood samples from dogs infected with Babesia gibsoni were analyzed by a flow cytometer for the percentage of reticulocytes after staining with a membrane‐permeable fluorochrome, thiazole orange. Though thiazole orange has been reported to stain human reticulocytes and Plasmodium‐infected erythrocytes, number of positive cells determined by the flow cytometry did not include that of erythrocytes infected with Babesia gibsoni. Analysis of 51 samples revealed a correlation coefficient of 0.96 as compared to the conventional determination by light microscopy. Separation of reticulocytes from Babesia gibsoni‐infected erythrocytes by flow cytometry with or without the stain remained unresolved.