Borrelia & Babesia

[Sproetje]

Co-Infection of Blacklegged Ticks with Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi Is Higher than Expected and Acquired from Small Mammal Hosts
Dppr: Michelle H. Hersh , Richard S. Ostfeld, Diana J. McHenry, Michael Tibbetts, Jesse L. Brunner, Mary E. Killilea, Kathleen LoGiudice, Kenneth A. Schmidt, Felicia Keesing

Published: June 18, 2014

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl ... ne.0099348

Abstract

Humans in the northeastern and midwestern United States are at increasing risk of acquiring tickborne diseases – not only Lyme disease, but also two emerging diseases, human granulocytic anaplasmosis and human babesiosis. Co-infection with two or more of these pathogens can increase the severity of health impacts. The risk of co-infection is intensified by the ecology of these three diseases because all three pathogens (Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Babesia microti) are transmitted by the same vector, blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis), and are carried by many of the same reservoir hosts. The risk of exposure to multiple pathogens from a single tick bite and the sources of co-infected ticks are not well understood. In this study, we quantify the risk of co-infection by measuring infection prevalence in 4,368 questing nymphs throughout an endemic region for all three diseases (Dutchess County, NY) to determine if co-infections occur at frequencies other than predicted by independent assortment of pathogens. Further, we identify sources of co-infection by quantifying rates of co-infection on 3,275 larval ticks fed on known hosts. We find significant deviations of levels of co-infection in questing nymphs, most notably 83% more co-infection with Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi than predicted by chance alone. Further, this pattern of increased co-infection was observed in larval ticks that fed on small mammal hosts, but not on meso-mammal, sciurid, or avian hosts. Co-infections involving A. phagocytophilum were less common, and fewer co-infections of A. phagocytophilum and B. microti than predicted by chance were observed in both questing nymphs and larvae fed on small mammals. Medical practitioners should be aware of the elevated risk of B. microti/B. burgdorferi co-infection.

Wat dan nog wel opvalt is dat er gezegd wordt dat de black legged tick of de Ixodes scapularis of de Ixodes dammini (is vlgs. mij 1 en dezelfde teek) vooral voorkomt in Noord Amerika. (vlgs. wiki)
Maar deze teek komt toch ook voor in Europa?

Kan er niet veel over vinden, maar vond in het woordenboek nog iets over de europese Ixodes ricinus en de Ixodes scapularis

Ixodes ricinus
the castor-bean tick, found on many species of mammals and birds in Europe. Transmits Babesia divergens, B. bovis, Anaplasma, tick pyemia, Coxiella burnetii, several human encephalitides and also causes paralysis.
Ixodes scapularis
shoulder or black-legged tick; found on most species. May transmit anaplasmosis and tularemia.

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictio ... es+dammini

Maar ja, als de Ixodes scapularis (black legged tick) op de meeste soorten voorkomt, zal ie ook wel op vogels gaan zitten.

[Sproetje]

A Case of Babesiosis Complicated by Hepatic and Renal Failure

Door: Steven Krawitz MS IV, Nilay Kavathia MD, Pratik Choksy MBBS

http://jdc.jefferson.edu/cgi/viewconten ... ontext=tmf

......
The endemic areas for babesiosis show significant overlap with Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis (2)

......

The severity of babesiosis infection depends on the strain of parasite as well as host factors
such as immune system status or asplenia

......

This case demonstrates that babesiosis is a potentially severe and fatal disease.
It is important to recall the risk factors for disease severity, especially in certain at-risk populations.
In treating such populations, potential end of life issues should be considerd,
as morality and complications from the disease are significant.

[Lola Lyme]

Als je Nederlandstalige informatie zoekt, ga je snel denken dat babesiose een ziekte is die zich enkel bij dieren manifesteert en dat is zeer bedenkelijk, aangezien men door 'onwetendheid' gecombineerd met bloeddonaties de verspreiding van (mogelijk fatale) babesiose bevordert

Screening Begins for Babesiosis in Donated Blood
January 21, 2016

With tick-borne illness on the rise, federal and state health agencies are turning their attention to babesiosis, a lesser known but potentially life-threatening disease carried by deer ticks that is transmissible through blood transfusions.


“Right now the focus is on babesia because that is causing multiple infections every year due to blood transfusion,” Dr. Catherine Brown, deputy epidemiologist at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, told the Gazette this week.

Several hundred cases are reported annually in the state, with the numbers increasing dramatically. Between two and five of those cases each year result from transfusions, Dr. Brown said.

Nationwide, babesiosis is the number one infectious disease caused by transfusions..

Lees meer Bron; TheVineyardGazette

[Sproetje]

Het CDC zei het ook in 2011:

Blood Supply Threatened By Tickborne Parasite Babesia, Screening Of Blood Donors Required
6 September 2011
Uit: Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/233928.php

[....]
The authors write that there is an urgent need for a screening test and prevention strategies. A number of medical device and diagnostic companies are working on developing tests for Babesia for donor-screening purposes.

Babesiosis is most commonly spread by tick bites. The tick is tiny, about the size of a poppy seed. Babesiosis is also human-transmissible via blood transfusions if the donor blood is contaminated.
[....]
Nineteen US states have reported cases of infection through transfusion, which can occur at any time of year.

[Sproetje]

CDC ,1998
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/4/3/98-0317_article

Tick-Borne Agents and Transfusion Risk

In the United States, the most commonly reported transfusion-associated tickborne infection is babesiosis. At least 21 reported cases of babesiosis, mostly caused by Babesia microti but also by the more recently recognized WA1-type Babesia parasite, have been transmitted by transfusion of blood from asymptomatic infected blood donors........

Borrelia burgdorferi ss kan ook worden overgebracht dmv bloedtransfusie:

Transfer of Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. infection via blood transfusion in a murine model.

2006

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1699 ... d_RVDocSum

Abstract

Without antibiotic treatment, the Lyme-disease-causing bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi can be cultured from the peripheral blood of human patients nearly 6 wk post-tick bite. To determine if Lyme disease spirochetes can be transmitted from a spirochetemic donor mouse to a naive recipient during blood transfusion, blood taken from immunocompetent infected mice was transfused into either immunodeficient (SCID) mice, inbred immunocompetent animals (C3H/HeJ), or outbred mice. Nine of 19 (47.7%) immunodeficient mice, 7 of 15 (46.8%) inbred immunocompetent mice, and 6 of 10 (60.0%) outbred mice became infected with B. burgdorferi after transfusion. Our results indicate that it is possible to acquire B. burgdoferi infection via transfused blood in a mouse model of Lyme borreliosis.

[Sproetje]

Als iemand nog twijfelt of babesia voorkomt bij mensen in Europa (en daar hoort Nederland ook bij), dan is hier meer informatie

http://ecdc.europa.eu/en/healthtopics/b ... index.aspx

Babesiosis

Babesiosis is an illness caused by a parasite of the Babesia spp., which infects and destroys the red blood cells. The disease is transmitted mainly by ticks which become infected by feeding on infected cattle, roe deer and rodents, which are the main reservoirs for this parasite.

While most infections pass by without symptoms, some people may become sick and present with flu-like symptoms like fever, chills, muscle ache, fatigue, as well as jaundice (yellowing of the skin due to a bile disorder). Severe cases, affecting the kidneys or the lungs, may occur and lead to death.

Human babesiosis infection is treated with antibiotics and quinine. There is no vaccine available