Molecular approaches to detect and study the organisms causing bovine tick borne diseases: babesiosis and anaplasmosis

This review will summarise the molecular approaches used to detect and analyse the genomes of Babesia bovis, B. bigemina and Anaplasma marginale which cause bovine babesiosis and anaplasmosis. These tick borne diseases are widely distributed in Africa, Asia, Australia, and Central and South America and for example, have been estimated to have an economic impact of US$15.9, $6.9, $6.2, $2.8, $22 million per annum in Australia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and South Africa, respectively (McLeod and Kristjanson, 1999). The development and uptake of molecular tools to study these pathogens are reviewed to highlight potential directions for future research.