Babesiosis is a disease of infectious origin. This is a serious pathology that affects red blood cells. Until recently, it belonged to the rare disease group, but recently there has been an increase in cases in American countries.
Causes and contagion
The disease is due to infection with single-cellular parasites of the genus. The infectious agent reproduces within the red blood cells (also called erythrocytes or haematites).
In general, the transmission of this disease occurs through ticks. Therefore, they are said to be vectors of babesiosis, which is an intermediate link between the protozoa and its affectation on the human being. Other microorganisms are transmitted by the bite of the tick, as is the case with Lyme disease.
In developing countries, contagion continues to occur through blood transfusions. It’s less common in our environment, but it can happen too. For the same reason, it is important to do a donor analysis and check that it does not have any kind of communicable disease for the recipient.
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Symptoms of Babesiosis:
Babesiosis has very variable manifestations:
- Asymptomatic cases. Patients have no symptoms of any kind.
- Unspecific symptoms. Some patients have fever (very mild fever), general discomfort, and anemia (low blood hemoglobin concentration). These are symptoms that are associated with several pathologies, so it is difficult to diagnose them solely based on the clinical picture.
- Serious cases. Patients suffer from nausea, myalgia (generalized muscle pains), headache, failures in the respiratory system, and very high fevers (usually reaching temperatures above 40ºC).
Diagnosis
Diagnosis is difficult. The main problem in early diagnosis lies in the low specificity of the initial symptoms. Sometimes they go completely unnoticed and others are so unspecific that it could be about many other diseases.
Moreover, when the demonstrations are serious, it can be confused with malaria. Symptoms are eye-catching, the disease is very advanced
For all this, clinical diagnosis is very complicated and in most cases is done by a laboratory study. A sample of the patient’s blood is simply removed and tested under a microscope.
Risk Groups
People who are most at risk of getting infected with babesiosis are as follows:
- The old people.
- Young adults.
- Immunosuppressed patients (especially those with cancer and AIDS).
Babesiosis appears where there is the tick that transmits it. So people living in areas with a lot of vegetation are more at risk of the disease. The groups mentioned above have a common feature, it is the weakness of the immune system (either because it is still developing, because it is atrophied, or because it does not work properly).
Treatment
The mildest cases of patients with droolosis are resolved without any treatment. It would only be necessary to wait for the immune system to do its function and completely remove the parasite causing the infection.
However, in the most acute cases, an adjuvant treatment is necessary, apart from the action of the immune system.
A combination of two types of drugs was traditionally used: quinine and clindamycin, but it was not always well tolerated and many patients had unwanted side effects.
Currently, the pattern to be followed is to administer azithromycin and atovaquone. In any case, these are anti-protozoa drugs that destroy the infectious agent
As a disease that uses our red blood cells as a target, anemia can become intense. This condition is very serious and affects the supply of oxygen to cells, let’s remember that hemoglobin is the protein responsible for fixing oxygen molecules in red blood cells. In the face of intense anemia, a blood transfusion may be necessary along with pharmacological treatment.
Prevention of Babesiosis
To avoid this disease, it is important to take several measures when we meet in the open. The most important thing is to use anti-slip repellent. However, it is also recommended to avoid spending time near bushes or ground floors and wear long-sleeved clothing. In this way, the exposed body surface is reduced to a very small unprotected area.
Complying with preventive measures is essential to enjoy outdoors without any inconvenience. Health is always the first thing.