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Presence of the tick is an important diagnostic indicator. |
| The blood samples may be withdrawn from the jugular vein, tip of the tail or tip of the ears. The number of B. bovis found in the circulating blood (jugular) is very small compared to what is found in peripheral blood. The opposite is seen with B bigemina. |  |
 Babesia bigemina in erythrocytes |
Identification of numerous protozoa in
infected erythrocytes in blood and brain smears can be diagnostic. Thin blood films should be stained with well-aged, freshly diluted and filtered Giemsa stain for best results. The protozoal organisms may be piriform, or may appear round or ring shaped. Mixed infections may occur. Diagnosticians should be aware that the intraerythrocytic protozoa may appear both large and small. |
| Brain or kidney smears may reveal numerous organisms within sludged blood of capillaries. |  |