Summary Background Human babesiosis is an emerging zoonosis. “ Babesia venatorum ” has been identified in only four asplenic men and a child so far. We aimed to describe the epidemiological, ...clinical, and laboratory characteristics of a series of cases with “ B venatorum ” infection identified in a sentinel hospital in China. Methods We recruited participants with a recent tick bite at Mudanjiang Forestry Central Hospital, Heilongjiang province, China. Cases were diagnosed through PCR followed by sequencing, microscopic identification, or isolation by animal inoculation, or both. Findings 48 individuals (30 women or girls; median age 45 years, range 7 months to 75 years) with “ B venatorum ” infection were identified. 32 of these individuals were confirmed cases and 16 were probable cases. None of the 48 cases had received a blood transfusion or had a splenectomy. Geographically, cases were distributed diffusely throughout the hospital catchment area. Of the 32 confirmed cases, 21 (66%) presented with a fever, 13 (41%) with a headache, 12 (38%) with myalgia or arthralgia, and three (9%) with chills. 14 (44%) patients had fatigue, eight (25%) had dizziness, and eight (25%) had hypersomnia. Six (19%) patients had an erythematous non-pruritic rash around the tick-bite site and two (6%) had lymphadenopathy. Seven (22%) and four (13%) patients had anaemia and thrombocytopenia, respectively, and seven (50%) of 14 patients with confirmed infection had increased hepatic transaminase concentrations. In the confirmed cases, concentrations of intercellular adhesion molecule 3 (p<0·001), P-selectin (p<0·05), and platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule 1 (p<0·001) were significantly reduced, whereas tumour necrosis factor α (p<0·01) and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (p<0·001) were significantly increased. Interpretation “ B venatorum ” infection should be included in the differential diagnosis of patients with a tick-exposure history in areas where this pathogen has previously been identified in ticks or people. Funding Natural Science Foundation of China and Mega-Project for Infectious Diseases.
Babesiosis is usually acquired from a tick bite or through a blood transfusion. We report a case of babesiosis in an infant for whom vertical transmission was suggested by evidence of Babesia spp. ...antibodies in the heel-stick blood sample and confirmed by detection of Babesia spp. DNA in placenta tissue.
Emergence of Babesia canis in southern England de Marco, Maria Del Mar Fernández; Hernández-Triana, Luis M; Phipps, L Paul ...
Parasites & vectors,
05/2017, Letnik:
10, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The United Kingdom is considered free of autochthonous transmission of canine babesiosis although cases are reported in dogs associated with recent travel abroad. During the winter months of 2015/16, ...a cluster of cases of disease in dogs with signs suggestive of canine babesiosis were reported in Harlow, Essex.
Babesia species were detected in dog blood samples by Giemsa staining of blood smears and by pan-piroplasm PCRs. Babesia species were also detected in extracts of tick DNA using pan-piroplasm PCRs. DNA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis was used to confirm the species of Babesia present in dog blood and tick samples. Tick species were identified by PCR-sequencing based on amplification of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit one (cox1) gene. Dermacentor reticulatus ticks were sampled from field sites in England and Wales.
Blood smear analysis on samples taken from some of the affected dogs confirmed the presence of a large Babesia species within erythrocytes. A tick recovered from one of these cases was identified as Dermacentor reticulatus, a species with a limited distribution in England and Wales, but a known vector of canine babesiosis in continental Europe. Babesia canis was subsequently identified in blood samples obtained from three clinical cases (all dogs) within the area and from ticks associated with these dogs. A field survey detected 17 adult D. reticulatus ticks from one area visited by the affected dogs. Fourteen of these ticks were shown to be positive for the B. canis parasite, implicating them as a potential source for babesiosis in Harlow. In order to assess whether the parasite is present in more than one tick population, D. reticulatus ticks from across England and Wales were screened for the presence of Babesia species. In addition to the Harlow site, a further five locations where D. reticulatus is present were screened for Babesia species. Babesia was not detected from most sites tested but one tick from a single location in Wales was positive for B. canis.
Infection with B. canis was confirmed in a number of dogs in Harlow, Essex, with no history of travel outside of the country. The same pathogen was identified in field-caught D. reticulatus ticks in the same area and is considered the likely source of infection. This highlights the need for vigilance by veterinary surgeons for future outbreaks of tick-borne disease in dogs.
Cardiac Complications of Human Babesiosis Spichler-Moffarah, Anne; Ong, Emily; O'Bryan, Jane ...
Clinical infectious diseases,
02/2023, Letnik:
76, Številka:
3
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Human babesiosis is a worldwide emerging tick-borne disease caused by intraerythrocytic protozoa. Most patients experience mild to moderate illness, but life-threatening complications can occur. ...Although cardiac complications are common, the full spectrum of cardiac disease and the frequency, risk factors, and outcomes in patients experiencing cardiac complications are unclear. Accordingly, we carried out a record review of cardiac complications among patients with babesiosis admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital over the last decade to better characterize cardiac complications of babesiosis.
We reviewed the medical records of all adult patients with babesiosis admitted to Yale-New Haven Hospital from January 2011 to October 2021, confirmed by identification of Babesia parasites on thin blood smear and/or by polymerase chain reaction. The presence of Lyme disease and other tick-borne disease coinfections were recorded.
Of 163 enrolled patients, 32 (19.6%) had ≥1 cardiac complication during hospitalization. The most common cardiac complications were atrial fibrillation (9.4%), heart failure (8.6%), corrected QT interval prolongation (8.0%), and cardiac ischemia (6.8%). Neither cardiovascular disease risk factors nor preexisting cardiac conditions were significantly associated with the development of cardiac complications. The cardiac complication group had a greater prevalence of high-grade parasitemia (>10%) (P < .001), longer median length of both hospital (P < .001) and intensive care unit stay (P < .001), and a higher mortality rate (P = .02) than the group without cardiac complications.
Cardiac complications of acute babesiosis are common and occurred in approximately one-fifth of this inpatient sample. Further investigation is needed to elucidate the relationship between babesiosis severity and cardiac outcomes.
Equine Piroplasmosis (EP) is a tick-borne disease caused by apicomplexan protozoan parasites,
and
. The disease is responsible for serious economic losses to the equine industry. It principally ...affects donkeys, horses, mules, and zebra but DNA of the parasites has also been detected in dogs and camels raising doubt about their host specificity. The disease is endemic in tropical and temperate regions of the world where the competent tick vectors are prevalent. Infected equids remain carrier for life with
infection, whilst, infection with
is cleared within a few years. This review focuses on all aspects of the disease from the historical overview, biology of the parasite, epidemiology of the disease (specifically highlighting other non-equine hosts, such as dogs and camels), vector, clinical manifestations, risk factors, immunology, genetic diversity, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.
Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), and babesiosis are emerging tick-borne infections.
To provide an update on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of tick-borne infections.
Search ...of PubMed and Scopus for articles on diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of tick-borne infections published in English from January 2005 through December 2015.
The search yielded 3550 articles for diagnosis and treatment and 752 articles for prevention. Of these articles, 361 were reviewed in depth. Evidence supports the use of US Food and Drug Administration-approved serologic tests, such as an enzyme immunoassay (EIA), followed by Western blot testing, to diagnose extracutaneous manifestations of Lyme disease. Microscopy and polymerase chain reaction assay of blood specimens are used to diagnose active HGA and babesiosis. The efficacy of oral doxycycline, amoxicillin, and cefuroxime axetil for treating Lyme disease has been established in multiple trials. Ceftriaxone is recommended when parenteral antibiotic therapy is recommended. Multiple trials have shown efficacy for a 10-day course of oral doxycycline for treatment of erythema migrans and for a 14-day course for treatment of early neurologic Lyme disease in ambulatory patients. Evidence indicates that a 10-day course of oral doxycycline is effective for HGA and that a 7- to 10-day course of azithromycin plus atovaquone is effective for mild babesiosis. Based on multiple case reports, a 7- to 10-day course of clindamycin plus quinine is often used to treat severe babesiosis. A recent study supports a minimum of 6 weeks of antibiotics for highly immunocompromised patients with babesiosis, with no parasites detected on blood smear for at least the final 2 weeks of treatment.
Evidence is evolving regarding the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of Lyme disease, HGA, and babesiosis. Recent evidence supports treating patients with erythema migrans for no longer than 10 days when doxycycline is used and prescription of a 14-day course of oral doxycycline for early neurologic Lyme disease in ambulatory patients. The duration of antimicrobial therapy for babesiosis in severely immunocompromised patients should be extended to 6 weeks or longer.
As human babesiosis caused by apicomplexan parasites of the Babesia genus is associated with transfusion-transmitted illness and relapsing disease in immunosuppressed populations, it is important to ...report novel findings relating to parasite biology that may be responsible for such pathology. Blood screening tools recently licensed by the FDA are also described to allow understanding of their impact on keeping the blood supply well tolerated.
Reports of tick-borne cases within new geographical regions such as the Pacific Northwest of the USA, through Eastern Europe and into China are also on the rise. Novel features of the parasite lifecycle that underlie the basis of parasite persistence have recently been characterized. These merit consideration in deployment of both detection, treatment and mitigation tools such as pathogen inactivation technology. The impact of new blood donor screening tests in reducing transfusion transmitted babesiosis is discussed.
New Babesia species have been identified globally, suggesting that the epidemiology of this disease is rapidly changing, making it clear that human babesiosis is a serious public health concern that requires close monitoring and effective intervention measures. Unlike other erythrocytic parasites, Babesia exploits unconventional lifecycle strategies that permit host cycles of different lengths to ensure survival in hostile environments. With the licensure of new blood screening tests, incidence of transfusion transmission babesiosis has decreased.
Abstract
Human babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne malaria-like illness caused by Babesia parasites following their development in erythrocytes. Here, we show that a mutation in the Babesia microti ...mitochondrial cytochrome b (Cytb) that confers resistance to the antibabesial drug ELQ-502 decreases parasite fitness in the arthropod vector. Interestingly, whereas the mutant allele does not affect B. microti fitness during the mammalian blood phase of the parasite life cycle and is genetically stable as parasite burden increases, ELQ-502–resistant mutant parasites developing in the tick vector are genetically unstable with a high rate of the wild-type allele emerging during the nymphal stage. Furthermore, we show that B. microti parasites with this mutation are transmitted from the tick to the host, raising the possibility that the frequency of Cytb resistance mutations may be decreased by passage through the tick vector, but could persist in the environment if present when ticks feed.
Human babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by Babesia parasites. We show that a mutation that confers resistance to the antibabesial drug ELQ-502 decreases parasite fitness in the tick but does not affect its transmission to the mammalian host.
Babesia microti, a tick-transmitted, intraerythrocytic protozoan parasite circulating mainly among small mammals, is the primary cause of human babesiosis. While most cases are transmitted by Ixodes ...ticks, the disease may also be transmitted through blood transfusion and perinatally. A comprehensive analysis of genome composition, genetic diversity, and gene expression profiling of seven B. microti isolates revealed that genetic variation in isolates from the Northeast United States is almost exclusively associated with genes encoding the surface proteome and secretome of the parasite. Furthermore, we found that polymorphism is restricted to a small number of genes, which are highly expressed during infection. In order to identify pathogen-encoded factors involved in host-parasite interactions, we screened a proteome array comprised of 174 B. microti proteins, including several predicted members of the parasite secretome. Using this immuno-proteomic approach we identified several novel antigens that trigger strong host immune responses during the onset of infection. The genomic and immunological data presented herein provide the first insights into the determinants of B. microti interaction with its mammalian hosts and their relevance for understanding the selective pressures acting on parasite evolution.
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