Hemolivia mauritanica (Sergent et Sergent, 1904) infections were found in 14% (n= 14) of Testudo graeca Linnaeus, 1758 tortoises in Bulgaria and in 92% (n = 26) of those in Turkey. Hemolivia mauritanica-like gametocytes were found in 81% (n = 47) of wild Testudo marginata Schoepff, 1792 tortoises in Greece. Parasitaemia intensity (the percentage of infected red blood cells found in approximately 104 cells) was 0.03-22.4% in T. graeca and 0.06-12.27% in T. marginata. On the other hand, all blood samples from 40 Bulgarian, 38 Greek, and 18 Croatian specimens of Testudo hermanni Gmelin, 1789 were negative.

Department of Biology and Wildlife Diseases University of Veterinary and Pharmaceutical Sciences Brno Palackého 1 3 612 42 Brno Czech Republic

Hemolivia species infecting Central American wood turtles (Rhinoclemmys pulcherrima manni) and problems with differential diagnosis within the genus Hemolivia

Detection of DNA of Babesia canis in tissues of laboratory rodents following oral inoculation with infected ticks