Epidemiological Study of Bovine Babesiosis in Siyari Rural Municipality, Rupandehi, Nepal

A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2022 to January 2023 to determine the prevalence of Bovine Babesiosis in cattle of Siyari Rural municipality in Rupandehi district by microscopic examination of Giemsa-stained thin blood smears.A total number of 121 blood samples were collected randomly from a different farm.Microscopic examination showed an overall prevalence of 5.79% in the study area.A chi-square test was done to test the significance of various factors.Breed, age, sex, herd size, tick infestation, feeding pattern, floor type and chemical use had an insignificant relationship with the prevalence of Babesiosis.However, body condition (0.004) and PCV (0.011) had a significant association.This significant association might be due to cattle with poor body conditions having low immunity, which favours more chance of getting an infection and as Babesia destroys erythrocytes which leads to a decrease in PCV.The odds ratio for age (>3/3) was 2.1, for herd size (>10/10) was 3.1, for body condition (poor/good) was 7.6, for chemical use (no/yes) was 1.9 and for PCV (low/normal) was 6.26.Further research should be conducted based on an immunological and molecular level to find the real scene of this disease.The result showed Bovine Babesiosis is a potential threat to the dairy sector.Appropriate tick control and prophylactic treatment programs should be done to improve the current situation.