English▸ noun [mass noun] a disease of cattle and other livestock, transmitted by the bite of ticks. It affects the red blood cells and causes the passing of red or blackish urine. Also called piroplasmosis,, redwater,, or murrain
The disease is caused by protozoans of the genus Babesia, phylum Sporozoa.
– ORIGIN early 20th century: from modern Latin Babesia, from the name Victor Babès (1854–1926), Romanian bacteriologist.