Human Babesiosis

Vannier, Edouard; Krause, Peter J.

doi:10.1056/nejmra1202018

Cited by 530 publications

(792 citation statements)

References 131 publications

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“…Older, immunocompromised, and asplenic patients experience similar symptoms but with increased severity. Even in immunocompetent patients, babesiosis can persist for many months [3][4][5][6][7][8]. It can quickly become life threatening and cause death if proper clinical treatment is not administered on time.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibitory effects of 19 antiprotozoal drugs and antibiotics on Babesia microti infection in BALB/c mice

Yao

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2015

J Infect Dev Ctries

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Introduction: Different results have been achieved in the evaluation of antiparasitic drug activity in Mongolian jirds, hamsters, and BALB/c mice infected with Babesia microti. The aims of the present study were to find a preferable method for drug screening and to re-evaluate the activity of several drugs against B. microti. Methodology: The activity of 19 drugs on B. microti-infected BALB/c mice was evaluated. The study was built on Peters' four-day suppressive test, and the pathogenicity of the blood from the treated mice was also used as indicator. Results: The results showed that 15 of the 19 drugs had little or no in vivo effect against B. microti. The inhibitory rates of atovaquone and azithromycin were high at all doses, but the microscopy-negative blood of recovered mice was still infectious. Similar to robenidine hydrochloride at 25 and 50 mg/kg, primaquine at 100 mg/kg had a 100% inhibitory rate. Robenidine hydrochloride achieved a 100% inhibitory rate at 100 mg/kg, and the blood of recovered mice did not result in parasitemia in subpassage experiments. Parasite-negative blood from mice treated with antimalarial drugs (clinically used for babesiosis) still caused parasitemia in subpassage experiments. This suggests that these drugs cannot eradicate the parasites. Conclusions: Peters' four-day suppressive test and the pathogenicity of the blood from the treated mice are suitable methods for preliminary investigating possible drugs against B. microti. Considering that robenidine hydrochloride achieved the best activity against B. microti in BALB/c mice in our study, further studies are needed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhibitory effects of 19 antiprotozoal drugs and antibiotics on Babesia microti infection in BALB/c mice

Yao

Zhang

Liu

et al. 2015

J Infect Dev Ctries

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“…Age related decline in cellular immunity might help explain the severity of babesiosis in patients older than 50 years of age [4]. This can be reflected by a mouse model which showed age-associated loss of immunity against B. microti [18].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first case of human babesiosis was reported in a Yugoslavian farmer in 1956 [3]. More than 100 Babesia species infect a wide variety of domestic and wild animals, but only few infect humans [4]. The main species of Babesia that are thought to cause the majority of human babesiosis are B. microti, B. divergens, and B. venatorum.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The main species of Babesia that are thought to cause the majority of human babesiosis are B. microti, B. divergens, and B. venatorum. [2,4]. In the northeastern part of the US, babesiosis is usually caused by the rodent species B. microti, which is transmitted by the tick, Ixodes scapularis, the same tick vector responsible for the transmission of anaplasmosis and Lyme disease; and thus co-infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum and Borrelia burgdorferi should always be considered and tested [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hematologic Manifestations of Babesiosis

Akel

Mobarakai

2018

Ann Clin Lab Res

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Background: Babesiosis, a zoonotic parasitic infection transmitted by the Ixodes tick, has become an emerging health problem in the human host that is attracting attention worldwide. Most cases of human babesiosis are reported in the United States and Europe. The disease is caused by the protozoa of the genus Babesia, which invade human erythrocytes and lyse them causing a febrile hemolytic anemia. The infection is usually asymptomatic or self-limited in the immunocompetent host, or follows a persistent, relapsing, and/or life threatening course with multi-organ failure, mainly in the splenectomized or immunosuppressed patients. Hematologic manifestations of the disease are common. They can range from mild anemia, to severe pancytopenia, splenic ruture, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), or even hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH).

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“…Other features that may suggest babesia are the presence of extra-erythrocytic parasites in the setting of high parasitemia, the absence of hemozoin (a brownish pigment) in the ring forms, and the absence of schizonts and gametocytes (forms which are unique to the Plasmodium life cycle). 9 The intra-erythrocytic ring forms and lack of a travel history, which are inconsistent with all the other diseases mentioned on his differential diagnosis, enable the discussant to reject the numerous hypotheses previously mentioned and confirm babesiosis as the best explanation. IBE suggests five characteristics that make a hypothesis or diagnosis a good explanation.…”

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confidence: 91%