Babesiosis: Tiny Bite, Big Problem

Case Study

Brett is a 36-year-old engineer who recently went on a hunting trip in the woods of upstate New York. When Brett returned home from the trip, he noticed that there was a tick that had burrowed into his right leg. He quickly got a pair of tweezers and successfully removed the tick.

About two weeks later, Brett started feeling quite ill. He was nauseated, fatigued, and his entire body ached. Brett's wife was worried about these symptoms and made Brett visit the doctor to get checked out. At the doctor's office, Brett was put through several different tests to see what was causing his recent illness. After evaluating the results, Brett's doctor informed him that he had contracted babesiosis, an infection caused by a microscopic parasite.

This is a magnified picture of the babesia microorganism, the parasite that causes babesiosis.

What is Babesiosis?

Babesiosis is an illness very similar to malaria that is caused by a microscopic protozoan parasite called Babesia that infects red blood cells in the human body. This disease is spread through the bites of ticks, which are commonly found in brush or wooded areas during the summer months. Babesiosis is most common in the Northeast and northern Midwest regions of the U.S.

Babesiosis is most commonly transmitted by ticks.

Symptoms

The symptoms of babesiosis have a wide range of severity. Many cases of babesiosis are asymptomatic, meaning a person does not have any symptoms at all. However, some people infected with babesiosis experience flu-like symptoms that include:

Nausea and vomiting
Body aches
Fever
Fatigue
Chills
Loss of appetite

These symptoms usually occur about one to four weeks after being bitten by an infected tick, but sometimes do not show until several months after the tick bite. Additionally, because babesiosis infects red blood cells, this illness can cause anemia, a condition in which a person has a deficiency of red blood cells in the body.

Babesiosis can cause flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, and body aches.

Treatment

Treatment of babesiosis usually includes a combination of atovaquone and azithromycin, which are two different types of medications that are also used to treat malaria. Atovaquone is an antipneumocytic medication, while azithromycin is an antibiotic. When used together, these medications have been shown to be successful in eliminating the Babesia microorganisms from the blood. However, it should be noted that those people with babesiosis who are asymptomatic do not require any treatment at all.

Lesson Summary

Babesiosis is an illness that is caused by a microscopic protozoan parasite called Babesia, which infects red blood cells in the human body and is most commonly spread through tick bites. Babesiosis is most common in the Northeast and northern Midwest regions of the U.S. during the summer months.

Symptoms of babesiosis range from asymptomatic to nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, fatigue, loss of appetite, and even anemia (deficiency of red blood cells). Treatment of this disease includes the combination of two different medications, atovaquone and azithromycin, which help to eliminate the Babesia parasites from the blood.

Medical Disclaimer: The information on this site is for your information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice.

Detailed Explanation

Babesiosis is a life-threatening, parasitic, vector-borne, highly infectious disease. In the case of babesiosis, the vectors are certain ticks. Babesiosis is an infection of the red blood cells. Human babesiosis mostly occurs in warm weather.

Causes:

Babesiosis is caused by a protozoa Babesia sp.. There are 4 types of Babesia that cause human babesiosis: Babesia microti, B. duncani, B. divergence, and large Babesia sp.. Babesia infects erythrocytes, grows inside them, and then lyses them. It is a tick-borne disease. The parasite enters the human bloodstream when a carrier tick bites a human.

Signs:

Intermittent fever
Chills
Vomiting
Headache
Loss of appetite
Fatigue
Hemolytic anemia
Muscle pain
Sore throat
Sweating
Enlarged spleen
Liver failure
Renal failure
Respiratory dysfunction
Disseminated intravascular coagulation
Coma

Control:

The spread of the disease can be prevented by controlling the growth of ticks using insecticides and pesticides.

The disease is usually treated using combination drug therapy, for example:

Atovaquone with azithromycin
Quinine with clindamycin