The First case of Locally Acquired Tick-Borne<i>Babesia Microti</i>Infection in Canada

Bullard, Jared; Ahsanuddin, Arshad; Perry, Anamarija M.; Lindsay, L. Robbin; Iranpour, Mahmood; Dibernardo, Antonia; Caeseele, Paul G. Van

doi:10.1155/2014/209521

Cited by 41 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…We did not detect B. microti or AP-ha strains in any ticks, suggesting that humans are at low risk of becoming infected with these pathogens due to locally acquired tick bites. However, ongoing surveillance is warranted as these pathogens continue to expand their range in North America (Parkins et al 2009, Bullard et al 2014.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence ofAnaplasma phagocytophilumandBabesia microtiinIxodes scapularisfrom a Newly Established Lyme Disease Endemic Area, the Thousand Islands Region of Ontario, Canada

Werden

Lindsay

et al. 2015

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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Blacklegged ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are vectors for several important human diseases, including Lyme disease, human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), and human babesiosis, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Babesia microti, respectively. The continued northward range expansion of blacklegged ticks and associated pathogens is an increasing public health concern in Canada. The Thousand Islands region of eastern Ontario has recently been identified as a new endemic area for Lyme disease in Canada, but the occurrence of other pathogens in ticks in this area has not been fully described. Our objectives were to determine the prevalence of A. phagocytophilum and B. microti in small mammals and questing ticks in the Thousand Islands area and identify the strains of A. phagocytophilum circulating in ticks in the area. Serum and larval ticks were collected from trapped small mammals, and questing ticks were collected via drag sampling from up to 12 island and mainland sites in 2006, 2009, and 2010. A. phagocytophilum was identified by PCR in 3.4% (47/1388) ticks from eight of 12 sites; the prevalence ranged from 8.9% in 2006 to 3% in 2009. All 365 ticks tested for B. microti were negative. Antibodies to A. phagocytophilum were detected in 2.8% (17/611) of white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) at two of 11 sites in 2006, 2009, or 2010. All 34 A. phagocytophilum-positive ticks submitted for strain identification using single-nucleotide polymorphism genotyping assays targeting the 16S rRNA gene were identified as a variant strain (Ap variant-1), which is not commonly associated with human disease. Our findings suggest that people are at low risk of contracting HGA or human babesiosis due to locally acquired tick bites in the Thousand Islands area. However, continued surveillance is warranted as these pathogens continue to expand their ranges in North America.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence ofAnaplasma phagocytophilumandBabesia microtiinIxodes scapularisfrom a Newly Established Lyme Disease Endemic Area, the Thousand Islands Region of Ontario, Canada

Werden

Lindsay

et al. 2015

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

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“…Ticks infected with Babesia microti were collected for the first time in Manitoba in I. scapularis in 2012 (L.R.L., personal observation). The first documented clinical case in humans in Canada was reported in Manitoba in 2013 (Bullard et al 2014). Blacklegged ticks infected with B. microti have been most frequently detected at sites in Manitoba, but small numbers of infected ticks have been reported from most other provinces in eastern Canada (O'Brien et al 2016).…”

Section: Babesiosismentioning

confidence: 99%

The Biological Survey of Canada: A Personal History

Danks¹

2017

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“…Studies of the other human babesial parasite, B. microti, have been neglected owing to the lack of an in vitro culture system for the parasite. However, as cases of B. microti-caused babesiosis are on the rise (6,(41)(42)(43), efforts have to be made to identify immunodominant and immunoprotective antigens in this parasite. The recent publication of the B. microti genome (44) has aided the efforts of researchers to identify and target orthologous proteins that appear to maintain essential functions within the life cycle of apicomplexans.…”

Section: Fig 3 Antigenicity Of Bdron2 Against Sera From B Divergens-mentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification and Characterization of the Rhoptry Neck Protein 2 in Babesia divergens and B. microti

et al. 2016

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bApicomplexan parasites include those of the genera Plasmodium, Cryptosporidium, and Toxoplasma and those of the relatively understudied zoonotic genus Babesia. In humans, babesiosis, particularly transfusion-transmitted babesiosis, has been emerging as a major threat to public health. Like malaria, the disease pathology is a consequence of the parasitemia which develops through cyclical replication of Babesia parasites in host erythrocytes. However, there are no exoerythrocytic stages in Babesia, so targeting of the blood stage and associated proteins to directly prevent parasite invasion is the most desirable option for effective disease control. Especially promising among such molecules are the rhoptry neck proteins (RONs), whose homologs have been identified in many apicomplexan parasites. RONs are involved in the formation of the moving junction, along with AMA1, but no RON has been identified and characterized in any Babesia spp. Here we identify the RON2 proteins of Babesia divergens (BdRON2) and B. microti (BmRON2) and show that they are localized apically and that anti-BdRON2 antibodies are significant inhibitors of parasite invasion in vitro. Neither protein is immunodominant, as both proteins react only marginally with sera from infected animals. Further characterization of the direct role of both BdRON2 and BmRON2 in parasite invasion is required, but knowledge of the level of conformity of RON2 proteins within the apicomplexan phylum, particularly that of the AMA1-RON2 complex at the moving junction, along with the availability of an animal model for B. microti studies, provides a key to target this complex with a goal of preventing the erythrocytic invasion of these parasites and to further our understanding of the role of these conserved ligands in invasion.H uman babesiosis is a zoonotic disease caused by protozoan parasites of the Babesia genus, primarily the bovine pathogen Babesia divergens in Europe (1, 2) and the rodent-borne parasite B. microti in the United States (3, 4). Parasites are transmitted by the bite of the ixodid tick when the insect takes a blood meal, and the current understanding of human babesiosis epidemiology is that B. divergens causes acute illness, usually in immunocompromised patients, whereas B. microti can also infect normosplenic immunocompetent individuals, resulting in infections that range from being asymptomatic to chronic. While many infections remain asymptomatic, especially in younger and immunocompetent individuals, the burden of severe pathology is in newborn infants and older or immunocompromised individuals, and fatality rates average 30% to 45% in these susceptible hosts (5). Transfusiontransmitted babesiosis is an emerging threat to public health, as asymptomatic carriers donate blood and there are no approved or regulated tests to screen blood products for this pathogen. As a consequence, since 2011, babesiosis has been a nationally notifiable disease in 18 states in the United States (6).Additionally, reports of tick-borne cases within new geographical...

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The First case of Locally Acquired Tick-BorneBabesia MicrotiInfection in Canada

Cited by 41 publications

References 11 publications

Prevalence ofAnaplasma phagocytophilumandBabesia microtiinIxodes scapularisfrom a Newly Established Lyme Disease Endemic Area, the Thousand Islands Region of Ontario, Canada

Prevalence ofAnaplasma phagocytophilumandBabesia microtiinIxodes scapularisfrom a Newly Established Lyme Disease Endemic Area, the Thousand Islands Region of Ontario, Canada

The Biological Survey of Canada: A Personal History

Identification and Characterization of the Rhoptry Neck Protein 2 in Babesia divergens and B. microti

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