In Chatham County, we are very familiar with tick-borne diseases like Lyme’s Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Nationally, a new tick-borne disease, Babesiosis, is causing concern. It is spreading throughout the Northeast and Midwest but it is still not common in North Carolina. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have decided it is important enough to add to the list of diseases that they track and monitor. The state of North Carolina might soon start doing the same.
The most common way for a person to get Babesiosis is from a bite from a Black-legged tick, or “deer tick” that is carrying the Babesia protozoa (a one-celled organism). Once, in the body, the protozoa infect the human’s red blood cells. “Deer ticks” pick up the protozoa from mice which carry Babesia.
People with Babesia-infected blood may not know that they are sick. Some people feel no symptoms at all, whereas others may experience symptoms that mimic the flu: fever, chills, headache, sweats, muscle pain, and fatigue. Babesiosis is treatable with a combination of anti-malaria drugs and antibiotics.
Babesiosis can be transmitted in a couple ways other than tick bites. People have gotten Babesiosis from blood transfusions, and although it is rare, it can cross the placenta from a mother to her fetus. One concern with this disease is Babesia in the donated blood supply. Potential blood donors may not know that they are infected, and there is currently no effective test for screening Babesia in the blood supply. The organism can survive in the blood anywhere from months to over 1 year.
For more information about Babesiosis, see: http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/babesiosis/index.html
