Babesia Microti Infection in Man: Evaluation of an Indirect Immunofluorescent Antibody Test

Chisholm, Emily S.; Ruebush, Trenton K.; Sulzer, Alexander J.; Healy, George R.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1978.27.14

Cited by 104 publications

(51 citation statements)

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“…More recently, the advent of hemovigilance and governmental reporting systems has allowed more-accurate estimates of current TTB cases. Based on recent data collected over 3 years, the frequency of cases has increased dramatically, with 18 Clinical features of TTB cases are generally thought to parallel those observed for naturally acquired infections. Incubation times for TTB cases generally mimic what is seen for natural infections; infections usually take 1 to 9 weeks to become apparent.…”

Section: Case Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The current serological "gold standard" for detecting B. microti antibody is the indirect immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) test, in use since first being described in 1978 (18 (72), it does suffer from subjectivity and resistance to automation. An enzyme immunoassay (EIA) based on recombinant antigens has been described in the literature, but to date, this assay and other high-throughput alternatives have been used largely for research and are not readily available (54).…”

Section: Diagnostic Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Approaches to diagnostic testing for Babesia infections take three primary forms: direct identification of Babesia-infected erythrocytes on a peripheral blood smear (45), serological demonstration of antibodies to Babesia spp. in patient serum or plasma (18,72), and/or demonstration of active parasitemia by PCR or animal inoculation (11,37,99).…”

Section: Diagnostic Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transfusion-TransmittedBabesiaspp.: Bull's-Eye onBabesia microti

2011

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SUMMARY Babesia spp. are intraerythrocytic protozoan parasites of animals and humans that cause babesiosis, a zoonotic disease transmitted primarily by tick vectors. Although a variety of species or types of Babesia have been described in the literature as causing infection in humans, the rodent parasite Babesia microti has emerged as the focal point of human disease, especially in the United States. Not only has B. microti become established as a public health concern, this agent is increasingly being transmitted by blood transfusion: estimates suggest that between 70 and 100 cases of transfusion-transmitted Babesia (TTB) have occurred over the last 30 years. A recent upsurge in TTB cases attributable to B. microti , coupled with at least 12 fatalities in transfusion recipients diagnosed with babesiosis, has elevated TTB to a key policy issue in transfusion medicine. Despite clarity on a need to mitigate transmission risk, few options are currently available to prevent the transmission of B. microti by blood transfusion. Future mitigation efforts may stress serological screening of blood donors in regionalized areas of endemicity, with adjunct nucleic acid testing during the summer months, when acute infections are prevalent. However, several hurdles remain, including the absence of a licensed blood screening assay and a thorough cost-benefit analysis of proposed interventions. Despite current obstacles, continued discussion of TTB without proactive intervention is no longer a viable alternative.

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Section: Case Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Diagnostic Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Diagnostic Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Transfusion-TransmittedBabesiaspp.: Bull's-Eye onBabesia microti

2011

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“…Definitive diagnosis is obtained after the parasites are demonstrated inside red blood cells in a Giemsa-stained peripheral blood film. Serological tests, mainly the measurement of antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence (IFAT), have been demonstrated to be both specific and sensitive for the diagnosis of B. microti infection, especially in chronic infections (84), but the persistence of antibodies does not necessarily reflect active infection, and the possibility of false-positive and false-negative results may occur (290).…”

Section: Other Parasitic Infectionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transmission of Tropical and Geographically Restricted Infections during Solid-Organ Transplantation

et al. 2008

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SUMMARY In recent years, the increasing number of donors from different regions of the world is providing a new challenge for the management and selection of suitable donors. This is a worldwide problem in most countries with transplantation programs, especially due to the increase in immigration and international travel. This paper elaborates recommendations regarding the selection criteria for donors from foreign countries who could potentially transmit tropical or geographically restricted infections to solid-organ transplant recipients. For this purpose, an extensive review of the medical literature focusing on viral, fungal, and parasitic infections that could be transmitted during transplantation from donors who have lived or traveled in countries where these infections are endemic has been performed, with special emphasis on tropical and imported infections. The review also includes cases described in the literature as well as risks of transmission during transplantation, microbiological tests available, and recommendations for each infection. A table listing different infectious agents with their geographic distributions and specific recommendations is included.

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“…Infected individuals can also be identified by using a PCR-based nucleic acid detection assay or by antibody detection using Babesia-infected hamster blood as the antigen in an immunofluorescence assay (IFA), a Western blot assay, or an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (14). Although the reported sensitivities and specificities have ranged from 88% to 100% and from 90% to 100%, respectively, none of these assays are ideally suited for blood product screening campaigns (3,14,29,30,34,50). Antibody assays can identify asymptomatically infected individuals and individuals in the chronic late phase of infection (14,28).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiplex Assay Detection of Immunoglobulin G Antibodies That Recognize Babesia microti Antigens

Priest

Moss

Won

et al. 2012

Clin Vaccine Immunol

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Human babesiosis, a blood-borne infection caused by several species of Babesia, including B. microti, is an emerging disease that is endemic in the Northeast, upper Midwest, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United States. Risk factors for babesiosis include exposure to the infected tick vector and blood transfusions from infected donors. In this work, we cloned and expressed two of the immunodominant antigens from B. microti and used them in a multiplex bead format assay (MBA) to detect parasitespecific IgG responses in human sera. The MBA using recombinant B. microti secreted antigen 1 (BmSA1) protein was more specific (100%) and slightly more sensitive (98.7%) than the assay using a truncated recombinant BMN1-17 construct (97.6% and 97.4%, respectively). Although some antibody reactivity was observed among sera from confirmed-malaria patients, only one Plasmodium falciparum sample was simultaneously positive for IgG antibodies to both antigens. Neither antigen reacted with sera from babesiosis patients who were infected with Babesia species other than B. microti. Both positive and negative MBA results were reproducible between assays and between instruments. Additional studies of these recombinant antigens and of the multiplex bead assay using blood samples from clinically defined babesiosis patients and from blood donors are needed to more clearly define their usefulness as a blood screening assay.

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Babesia Microti Infection in Man: Evaluation of an Indirect Immunofluorescent Antibody Test

Cited by 104 publications

References 0 publications

Transfusion-TransmittedBabesiaspp.: Bull's-Eye onBabesia microti

Transfusion-TransmittedBabesiaspp.: Bull's-Eye onBabesia microti

Transmission of Tropical and Geographically Restricted Infections during Solid-Organ Transplantation

Multiplex Assay Detection of Immunoglobulin G Antibodies That Recognize Babesia microti Antigens

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