COMPARATIVE MEDICINE REVIEW OF IMMUNE-MEDIATED NEPHROTIC SYNDROME DUE TO BABESIA INFECTION.

Awareness regarding the need for One Health is steadily increasing. This is largely due to the zoonotic element of many diseases. The past two decades have also shown increased support for translational and comparative medicine where animals with naturally occurring non-communicable diseases as well as zoonotic diseases that are also observed in humans are studied to advance both veterinary and human medicine. Understanding renal disease progression and possible means of diagnosis as well as treatment to prevent end-stage renal failure is critical to both human and veterinary medicine. Nephrotic syndrome is of particular interest due to its challenging progression and associated proteinuria/albuminuria, which if left untreated may rapidly lead to end-stage kidney failure or death by related physical complications. Nephrotic syndrome may be caused by an immune cascade from parasitic infections such as Babesia infection. Babesia is progressively becoming a global zoonotic concern for humans, including associated immune-mediated renal disease. Due to the large number of companion and feral animals infected with Babesia, the disease process and associated complications, such as nephrotic syndrome and acute liver failure are more fully understood in these species. This review aims to explore immune-mediated nephrotic syndrome due to Babesia infection in companion animals and developments in diagnosis and treatment as well as the applicability to human medicine. Advancement in urine analysis for glomerular and tubule injury biomarkers as well as the detection of immunoglobulins in urine shows promise as a less invasive means of diagnosis than renal biopsy in small and very ill patients. Further research on felines with immune-mediated nephrotic syndrome may deliver valuable information for both veterinary and human medicine and may also provide transferable insights to large human and feline populations with immunodeficiency

Research progress on diagnostic techniques for different Babesia species in persistent infections

Babesiosis, a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Babesia protozoa, poses significant infection risks across mammalian species. Clinical manifestations in vertebrate hosts range from spontaneous abortion to fatal outcomes, with immunocompromised individuals potentially transmitting the pathogen through blood products or transplanted organs, thereby amplifying epidemiological risks. Effective disease management carries substantial public health implications for livestock production, companion animal welfare, and food safety in endemic regions. In global endemic zones, conventional diagnostic approaches combine morphological identification of Babesia spp. with complementary serological assays. Contemporary molecular diagnostics, particularly nucleic acid amplification techniques, have emerged as valuable adjunctive tools. A critical challenge in veterinary practice involves persistent subclinical carriers among treated livestock populations, necessitating precise parasite speciation for effective transmission control. This review synthesizes recent advancements in babesiosis detection methodologies, with particular emphasis on their implementation in clinical microbiology laboratories. This article introduces the latest progress in Babesiosis detection technology and its application in clinical microbiology laboratories, to provide a theoretical and practical basis for the comprehensive prevention and control of Babesiosis

Micro/Nano Devices for Blood Analysis, Volume II

The development of micro- and nanodevices for blood analysis continues to be a growing interdisciplinary subject that demands the careful integration of different research fields. Following the success of the book “Micro/Nano Devices for Blood Analysis”, we invited more authors from the scientific community to participate in and submit their research for a second volume. Researchers from different areas and backgrounds cooperated actively and submitted high-quality research, focusing on the latest advances and challenges in micro- and nanodevices for diagnostics and blood analysis; micro- and nanofluidics; technologies for flow visualization and diagnosis; biochips, organ-on-a-chip and lab-on-a-chip devices; and their applications to research and industry