Effect of passage of Babesia ovis in the gerbil (Acomys cahirinus) on the course of infection in splenectomized lambs.

Splenectomized gerbils (Acomys cahirinus) have been found to be susceptible to Babesia ovis applied via blood inoculation, whereas intact gerbils were not infected. Blood from splenectomized latently infected gerbils caused infection in a splenectomized lamb. Intact Acomys cahirinus gerbils did not become infected by B. ovis, and all captured rodents in an enzootic area, intact and splenectomized, were found to be negative for B. ovis. It can thus be concluded that Acomys cahirinus does not serve as a natural reservoir for B. ovis.