Attenuation of virulence in an apicomplexan hemoparasite results in reduced genome diversity at the population level

Table 1 In vivo evaluation of Babesia bovis attenuation

Inoculated strain	T2Bo_vir	T2Bo_att	L17_vir	L17_att
# of animals	12	18	12	18
Average age of animal (mth)	16.5	15.5	17	16
# of animals requiring treatment*	12/12	0/18	12/12	0/18

* treatment criteria include one of the following. Hyperthermia > 41°C for 3 consecutive days, percent parasitemia > 0.5%, hematocrit < 15% and neurological signs such as ataxia, excess salivation, head pressing, lateral head torsion and recumbency w/. fully extended head. Vir, virulent phenotype; att, attenuated phenotype; T2Bo, Tex strain; L17, Argentina strain.

ISSN: 1471-2164