Babesia and Human Babesiosis

Montero, Estrella; Gray, Jeremy; Lobo, Cheryl A.; González, Luís Miguel

doi:10.3390/pathogens11040399

Pathogens

2022

DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11040399

|View full text |Cite

Babesia and Human Babesiosis

Estrella Montero

Jeremy Gray

Cheryl A. Lobo

et al.

Abstract: Babesia is a genus of intraerythrocytic protozoan parasites belonging to the exclusively parasitic phylum Apicomplexa [...]

Help me understand this report

Search citation statements

Order By: Relevance

Paper Sections

Select...

Citation Types

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Year Published

2022

2023

Publication Types

Select...

Article3

Relationship

Self Cite0

Independent3

Authors

Journals

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

Transfusion-transmitted Babesia spp.: a changing landscape of epidemiology, regulation, and risk mitigation

Drews,

Kjemtrup,

Krause

et al. 2023

J Clin Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Babesia spp. are tick-borne parasites with a global distribution and diversity of vertebrate hosts. Over the next several decades, climate change is expected to impact humans, vectors, and vertebrate hosts and change the epidemiology of Babesia . Although humans are dead-end hosts for tick-transmitted Babesia , human-to-human transmission of Babesia spp. from transfusion of red blood cells and whole blood-derived platelet concentrates has been reported. In most patients, transfusion-transmitted Babesia (TTB) results in a moderate-to-severe illness. Currently, in North America, most cases of TTB have been described in the United States. TTB cases outside North America are rare, but case numbers may change over time with increased recognition of babesiosis and as the epidemiology of Babesia is impacted by climate change. Therefore, TTB is a concern of microbiologists working in blood operator settings, as well as in clinical settings where transfusion occurs. Microbiologists play an important role in deploying blood donor screening assays in Babesia endemic regions, identifying changing risks for Babesia in non-endemic areas, investigating recipients of blood products for TTB, and drafting TTB policies and guidelines. In this review, we provide an overview of the clinical presentation and epidemiology of TTB. We identify approaches and technologies to reduce the risk of collecting blood products from Babesia -infected donors and describe how investigations of TTB are undertaken. We also describe how microbiologists in Babesia non-endemic regions can assess for changing risks of TTB and decide when to focus on laboratory-test-based approaches or pathogen reduction to reduce TTB risk.

show abstract

Transfusion-transmitted Babesia spp.: a changing landscape of epidemiology, regulation, and risk mitigation

Drews,

Kjemtrup,

Krause

et al. 2023

J Clin Microbiol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Activity of Apo-Lactoferrin on Pathogenic Protozoa

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Parasites and other eventually pathogenic organisms require the ability to adapt to different environmental conditions inside the host to assure survival. Some host proteins have evolved as defense constituents, such as lactoferrin (Lf), which is part of the innate immune system. Lf in its iron-free form (apo-Lf) and its peptides obtained by cleavage with pepsin are microbicides. Parasites confront Lf in mucosae and blood. In this work, the activity of Lf against pathogenic and opportunistic parasites such as Cryptosporidium spp., Eimeria spp., Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia duodenalis, Leishmania spp., Trypanosoma spp., Plasmodium spp., Babesia spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Trichomonas spp., and the free-living but opportunistic pathogens Naegleria fowleri and Acanthamoeba castellani were reviewed. The major effects of Lf could be the inhibition produced by sequestering the iron needed for their survival and the production of oxygen-free radicals to more complicated mechanisms, such as the activation of macrophages to phagocytes with the posterior death of those parasites. Due to the great interest in Lf in the fight against pathogens, it is necessary to understand the exact mechanisms used by this protein to affect their virulence factors and to kill them.

show abstract

Babesiosis. Reporte de caso clínico en Venezuela. Revisión de literatura

Sarmiento¹,

león²,

Miceli³

et al. 2023

BVI

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

La babesiosis es una enfermedad causada por protozoos intraeritrocíticos con características clínicas que son similares a las de la malaria, se transmite a los seres humanos a través de la picadura de una garrapata infectada, ocasionalmente por transfusión. A nivel global la prevalencia de la enfermedad es desestimada; se desconoce esa proporción en Latinoamérica y Venezuela. Caso clínico: Paciente masculino de 29 años con fiebre de 15 días, ictericia, dolor abdominal, en quien se sospechó malaria por epidemiología y síntomas, se descartaron otras entidades como endocarditis, leptospirosis, tuvo serología positiva para ehrlichiosis, sin embargo, persistió clínica a pesar del tratamiento con cloroquina, clindamicina y doxiciclina; por tanto, se realizaron estudios complementarios con hallazgo de inclusiones intraeritrocíticas compatibles con Babesiosis e inició terapia con clindamicina y quinina por 7 días con evolución satisfactoria. Discusión: El caso reportado requirió de un ejercicio clínico y apoyo interdisciplinario para un desenlace adecuado. Entre los diagnósticos diferenciales de enfermedades intraeritrocitarias se encuentra la babesiosis cuyos síntomas son inespecíficos, pero orienta su diagnóstico al indagar en el antecedente epidemiológico. El tratamiento incluye Atovacuona con Azitromicina o alternativas como Clindamicina con Quinina. Conclusiones: El presente caso fue bastante complejo dado su forma de presentación y al ser una enfermedad con una baja prevalencia en nuestro país, sin embargo predominó el juicio clínico logrando el mejor resultado posible.

show abstract

scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.

Contact Info

hi@scite.ai

10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614

Henderson, NV 89052, USA

Blog Terms and Conditions API Terms Privacy Policy Contact Cookie Preferences Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information

Made with 💙 for researchers

Part of the Research Solutions Family.

Babesia and Human Babesiosis

Abstract: Babesia is a genus of intraerythrocytic protozoan parasites belonging to the exclusively parasitic phylum Apicomplexa [...]

Cited by 3 publications

References 27 publications

Transfusion-transmitted Babesia spp.: a changing landscape of epidemiology, regulation, and risk mitigation

Transfusion-transmitted Babesia spp.: a changing landscape of epidemiology, regulation, and risk mitigation

Activity of Apo-Lactoferrin on Pathogenic Protozoa

Babesiosis. Reporte de caso clínico en Venezuela. Revisión de literatura

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About