First molecular report of Babesia gibsoni infection in pet dogs in Hunan province, subtropical China

between 150 and 200 million (Ma et al ., 2012). The first case of canine babesiosis caused by B. gibsoni in China was reported 37 years ago, from Henan province. Then, cases of canine babesiosis were gradually reported across China. Currently, canine babesiosis has been reported from 11 provinces and one municipality of China (Jin et al ., 2005; Xu et al ., 2015; He et al ., 2017; Niu et al ., 2017; Zhang et al ., 2017; Zheng et al ., 2017; Li et al ., 2020; Wang et al ., 2020), which revealed the existence of Babesia spp. in pet dogs. These results have showed that B. gibsoni and B. vogeli were common in China. In spite of the prevalence of Babesia spp. reported in pet dogs in many provinces of China, limited information is available for Babesia spp. infection in Hunan province, subtropical China. Importantly, a recent study has indicated that B. canis is the most widespread species in Hunan province (Wang et al ., 2020). Therefore, the objective of the present study was to investigate the prevalence of Babesia spp. infection in pet dogs from Hunan province, subtropical China. Our results should provide important epidemiological information for the control of canine babesiosis in China and elsewhere.