Babesia - Clinical Manifestation, Complications, Prognosis, Epidemiology, Reservoir, Transmission

Clinical Manifestation of Babesia

In otherwise healthy hosts, the clinical manifestation of Babesia includes acute infections resembling malaria.

In individuals who are elderly, immunocompromised, or have undergone splenectomy, babesiosis is more fulminant with the prolonged clinical course which might turn fatal.

The level of parasitemia is less than 10% in individuals with intact spleen while in asplenic patients, the level of parasitemia may vastly range from 1% to 90% depending upon several conditions.

Babesia bovis infection

• Babesia bovis infections are severe, fulminant, and may be fatal

• occurs mainly in immunocompromised and splenectomized individuals

• misdiagnosed with Plasmodium falciparum infection expect the absence of cerebral manifestations

• prevalent in Europe and occurs mainly in cattle

• syndromes include fever, prostration, jaundice, anemia, hemoglobinuria

Babesia microti infection

• Babesia microti infection occurs in North America

• reservoir is rodent

• infection can occur in people with intact spleen and people older than 50 years

• the incubation period is 1-3 weeks

• may manifest as mild or sub-clinical

• insidious in people with Hiv, elderly, preexistent disease, or have undergone splenectomy

• mostly limiting and rarely fatal

• syndromes include fever, hepatosplenomegaly, moderate to severe anemia

Complications of Babesia

Complications of Babesia are:

• Nearly 25% of individuals infected with Babesia spp are co-infected with Lyme disease (the etiological agent is Borrelia burgdorferi)

• conditions such as endotoxemia, complement activation, microemboli, cytoadherence, and disseminated intravascular coagulation may result in Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)

• ARDS is a common complication of asplenic patients

• in severe cases, pulmonary edema and respiratory failure occur

• in post-splenectomy patients, generalized seizures, acute renal failure, and haemophagocytic syndromes may occur

Prognosis of Babesia

In otherwise healthy individuals with intact spleen, the prognosis of Babesia is good while in asplenic patients, the infection may turn fatal.

Epidemiology of Babesia

Babesia spp, which causes babesiosis, is a zoonotic infection transmitted to humans from wild and domestic animals through the bite of a tick vector.

Epidemiologically, babesiosis occurs in Europe and Asia, and infections are mostly caused by Babesia microti.

Babesia microti is found in the USA while Babesia divergens and Babesia bovis are found in European countries such as France, Ireland, and Scotland, and Salviac states like Russia and Yugoslavia.

Reservoir, Source of Babesia

Domestic and wild animals are an important source and reservoir of Babesia spp infection. Man is an accidental host.

Animal reservoirs are hard tick vectors of the genus Ixodes, Boophilus, and Dermacentor. All stages of the parasite- larvae, nymph, and adult tick- can infect a human.

Transmission of Babesia

Babesia is transmitted from animal reservoirs to humans by the bite of hard tick vectors of the genus Ixodes, Boophilus, and Dermacentor. All stages of the parasite- larvae, nymph, and adult tick- can infect a human.

The parasite is rarely transmitted by blood transfusion and transplacental/perinatal route.