Babesia Infection

Why in News?
•    Eight lion cubs in Gujarat's Gir landscape recently died from suspected Babesia infection, prompting disease-control measures, tick-removal operations, and monitoring of lions in affected areas.
What is Babesiosis?
•    Babesiosis is a parasitic disease caused by microscopic Babesia parasites that infect red blood cells. 
•    The disease is primarily transmitted through infected ticks, making it a vector-borne disease. 
•    Since the parasite destroys red blood cells, it can lead to hemolytic anemia, a condition in which red blood cells are destroyed faster than they can be replaced. 
•    Only a few species of Babesia infect humans, although many species infect animals. 
•    Babesiosis can cause weakness, fever, coughing, nasal discharge and general debilitation in infected animals. 
•    Severe infections may increase mortality, particularly among young or vulnerable animals.
Challenges
•    Tick-borne diseases can spread rapidly among wildlife populations living in open forest ecosystems. 
•    The concentration of the entire wild Asiatic lion population within a single landscape increases vulnerability to disease outbreaks. 
•    Disease outbreaks pose a significant conservation challenge for endangered species with geographically restricted populations. 
•    Monitoring and controlling disease transmission in free-ranging wildlife is often difficult due to constant animal movement.
Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo persica)
•    The Asiatic Lion is found in the wild only in the Gir landscape of Gujarat. 
•    The species survives in a compact region of dry deciduous forests and open scrublands in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. 
•    According to the 2025 census, Gujarat hosts 891 Asiatic lions. 
•    The Asiatic Lion is listed as Endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature. 
•    The species is included in Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, providing the highest level of legal protection in India. 
•    The Asiatic Lion is included in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which regulates international trade in the species.