**10. Prevention**

The most effective preventive measures practised worldwide are regular control of the tick vectors by routinely dipping or spraying pets or using tick collars or spot-on preparations. As it takes a minimum of 48 hours for *Babesia* transmission, so regular examination of dogs for the presence of any ticks and to remove it soon after they attach is important. The merozoites circulating in the blood may be transmitted to a healthy host directly by blood transfusion, so blood donors should be screened negative for babesiosis, preferably by polymerase chain reaction. Moreover, it is also reported that *B. gibsoni* can be transmitted by transfer of blood during dog fighting, which should be prevented. In Europe a vaccine is available against *B. canis* with a reported efficacy of 70–100% [76]. More recently a bivalent vaccine called Pirodog® (Merial) derived from soluble parasite antigens from *B. canis* and *B. rossi* obtained from culture media supernatant has been shown to reduce duration and severity of clinical signs [77]. Although vaccination against canine babesiosis does not prevent infection, it does seem to block the initiation of pathologic processes involved in the pathogenesis of the disease [78]. This vaccine can be administered from 5 months of age and requires annual revaccination but does not cross-protect against other *Babesia* species. Vaccines against other *Babesia species* such as *B. gibsoni* are currently being developed including recombinant antigen and DNA vaccines [79–81]. Although dogs can be vaccinated, the level of protection is highly variable, which might be due to genetic diversity of *B. canis* strains.
