Rates of a potentially deadly tick-borne parasitic disease that can cause paralysis are rising.
According to researchers, babesiosis, sometimes called “American malaria,” has increased an average of 9 percent each year between 2015 and 2022 in the United States.
Additionally, two out of five of these patients were also found to be co-infected with Lyme disease or another tick-borne disease.
Although mainly found in the northeastern and midwestern US states, the tick-borne disease also reached Britain four years ago.
Babesiosis, caused by a parasite called Babesia microti carried in the saliva of ticks, which from there begins to infect the person’s red blood cells, destroying them.
Each year, babesiosis, sometimes called “American malaria,” has increased an average of 9 percent between 2015 and 2022 in the U.S., researchers say
The disease is caused by a single-celled organism that attacks red blood cells when it infects humans.
While a healthy adult can usually get rid of the infection, it can be deadly, and older adults and those with health conditions or treatments that weaken their immune system are at particular risk.
Like malaria, the parasite infects red blood cells and causes anemia, and the condition shares many similar clinical symptoms.
Although around two-thirds of people with the infection do not have symptoms, those who do develop symptoms in two phases.
First, those infected experience a flu-like illness, such as fever, headache, and fatigue.
It then progresses to a second, more serious phase in which the body’s central nervous system is disrupted, causing problems in the spinal cord and brain, such as meningitis, encephalitis, and paralysis.
While most cases are caused by tick bites, less common ways to become infected with babesiosis include receiving a blood transfusion containing the parasite or a mother with the infection passing it to her baby during pregnancy. .
Changes in temperature, humidity, precipitation, and length of season may have influenced the population and distribution of ticks in the US and throughout Europe, as well as the population of animals that serve as reservoirs. , like deer.
As a result, ticks may be present over a wider geographic area.
Getting rid of a tick from your own skin is essential to avoid the risk of infection or contracting other diseases, including Lyme disease. The NHS has a four-step routine to help detect and safely remove ticks
Although rare in the UK, cases of babesiosis have been reported and the charity Lyme Disease Action says it is another disease that both doctors and the public should be aware of.
Health officials confirmed a case of tick-borne illness in the United Kingdom on July 31, 2020 in Devon.
Lyme disease, another tick-borne illness that causes a circular rash around the bite, as well as fever, headache and tiredness, affects thousands of Britons each year.
The bacteria was detected among more than 1,000 people throughout the country in 2022.
But, in addition to these laboratory-confirmed cases, it is estimated that between 1,000 and 2,000 additional cases of bacterial infection occur each year.
As a result, the charity Lyme Disease UK claims that between 3,000 and 4,000 people in England and Wales are affected each year.
Provisional ONS data for 2021 shows there were 1,156 laboratory-confirmed cases of Lyme disease in England and Wales.
He study published in the journal Open Forum Infectious Diseases evaluated the prevalence of the disease, as well as the effect of patients infected with multiple tick-borne diseases.
Using TriNetX, a large national database of clinical patient data of more than 250 million people, they identified 3,521 people who were infected with babesiosis between October 2015 and December 2022.
The researchers found that the incidence of babesiosis increased an average of 9 percent per year.
Most cases peaked during the summer months and were reported in northeastern states. Of those diagnosed with babesiosis, 42 percent were infected with one or more additional tick-borne diseases, which is a higher rate than found in previous studies.
The largest percentage of those patients, 41 percent, were co-infected with the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease.
The map above shows the US states that have reported cases of babesiosis and the prevalence of the disease. It is endemic in northeastern, midwestern, and western states, and has also been recorded in the south.
This chart, provided by the CDC, shows how many cases of babesiosis have been reported in the US each year. In 2011 there were just over 1,000 cases, but now it has increased to 2,500
When the researchers examined whether infection with two tick-borne diseases led to worse outcomes, they found that there were no significant differences between the group with babesiosis alone and the group with co-infection.
However, when they looked at the risk of mortality, they found that the risk of death was higher among the group that only had babesiosis.
“Having babesiosis and Lyme disease did not appear to be associated with worse mortality,” said Paddy Ssentongo, an infectious diseases researcher at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and lead author of the study.
He added that the find was surprising. He said: “It is speculated that the simultaneous presence of other tick-borne infections in the blood could alter the immune response possibly ‘boosting’ it to effectively combat the infections.”
However, this difference in results may be due to how tick-borne diseases are treated.
In their study, the team found that the co-infection group was more likely to be prescribed doxycycline, the first-line antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis, compared to the babesiosis-only group.
What the researchers suggested could suggest that the drug doxycycline is also effective in treating the babesia parasite.
Currently, the treatment of babesiosis depends on the severity of the disease.
Treatment usually includes a combination of antibiotics azithromycin and atovaquone.
Red blood cell exchange, in which abnormal red blood cells are removed and replaced with healthy ones, may also be considered for severely ill patients, such as those with severe organ dysfunction.
“For patients with babesiosis, we add doxycycline while we investigate whether the patient has Lyme disease or other tick-borne diseases, and we have seen better results at our medical center with this approach,” Dr. Ssentongo said.
He said there are other case reports in which babesiosis has been successfully treated with doxycycline. However, more research is needed to understand the physiological pathways underlying co-infection and how they might influence treatment protocols.
But the most effective treatment approach is to prevent tick-borne diseases in the first place, according to Dr. Ssentongo.
To avoid diseases transmitted by ticks, it is advisable to wear long-sleeved shirts, pants and light-colored clothing. It is also recommended to use tick repellent and check for ticks after spending time outdoors.
