Babesia bigemina

Babesia bigemina is a species of alveolates belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa and the family Babesiidae, a type of protozoan parasite. In cattle, it causes babesiosis, also called "Texas fever". Its length is 4–5 μm and its width is 2–3 μm. Usually, it has an oval shape. In blood cells, it is located midsagittally and can reach up to two-thirds of the diameter of the blood cell in size. It is transmitted by Boophilus ticks which are prevalent in the tropics. The genome for B. bigemina is incomplete and unassembled.

It is the causative agent of babesiosis or cattle fever, a devastating disease to naive cattle with the ability to quickly kill its hosts. Ticks in the genus Rhipicephalus (Rh. microplus, Rh. boophilus) are main intermediate hosts and vectors. Because tick populations persist globally, B. bigemina prevalence has also persisted, causing hardship and economic loss to the cattle industry .