Babesiosis means: Here is some information about the life cycle of B. microti. Two hosts are involved in the B. microti’s life cycle. Peromyscus Leucopus, a white-footed mouse is the most common. A Babesia infected tick injects sporozoites to the host mouse during a blood meal. Sporozoites can enter the erythrocytes, where they undergo sexual reproduction budding. Some parasites can differentiate in blood into male or female gametes, but these are not easily distinguished under a light microscope. A tick is the definitive host, Ixodes dammini I. capularis, which in this instance was the deer tick. After being ingested, the gametes unite to form sporozoites. For “large” Babesia species, transovarial transmission, also called vertical or hereditary transmission, has been recorded. However, this is not true for “smaller” Babesia spp. such as B. microti.
(in Medical Dictionary)
What else does Babesiosis mean?
The hosts for adult ticks are deer, and they indirectly influence tick populations. The potential transmission of disease increases when deer numbers increase.
(in Medical Dictionary)
Diagnostics: A microscopic inspection of Giemsa stained blood smears can help to diagnose the condition. To diagnose, it may be necessary to repeat blood smears. A complementary diagnostic test that detects antibodies by indirect fluorescent antibody IFA is the antibody detection test. Diagnostic tests may include the isolation of Babesia through inoculation (injection of patient’s blood to gerbils or hamsters) of the parasite. Infective blood is usually given to animals infected with parasitemia. This can occur within a matter of weeks.
(in Medical Dictionary)
Babesiosis is an illness that’s caused by Babesia, a parasite transmitted by ticks from animals to people. It is most common in the Northeast and Midwest of the United States. This includes New York State, southern New England, Wisconsin and Minnesota. You may experience symptoms such as fever, muscle aches and sweating. The symptoms usually appear after a period of one to four weeks. They can also last for several weeks. Patients who have been immunosuppressed or are splenectomized without their spleens, elderly, and those with a weak immune system will be more likely to develop the disease. This can lead to death. The treatment involves the use of antibiotics such as clindamycin, quinine, atovaquone or azithromycin.
(in Medical Dictionary)
Infected ticks can bite humans and cause the human cycle to begin. A Babesia infected tick can introduce sporozoites to the host during a blood meal. Sporozoites infect erythrocytes, and then undergo sexual replication budding. The clinical manifestations are caused by the multiplication of blood stage parasites. For all practical purposes, humans are dead-end hosts. There is very little to no transmission from ticks eating infected people. Blood transfusions can allow for human-to-human transmission.
(in Medical Dictionary)
Parasite: Although more than 100 Babesia species have been described, just a handful have been confirmed to cause human infection. Babesia varigens and Babesia microscopic have been found in the majority of human cases. However, variants that are thought to be different species were recently discovered. There is little information about Babesia species found in malarial regions where Babesia could easily be mistaken for Plasmodium, the agent of Malaria.
(in Medical Dictionary)
Tick-borne protozoan infections of animals such as Texas fever in cattle are caused by species
Babesia.
(in Merlin Dictionary)
Human protozoan red blood cell disease caused by species
Babesia
It is spread by deer ticks. The symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, and hemolyticanemia. It is most common in the Northeastern and Midwest regions of the United States.
(in Merlin Dictionary)
