Babesia
Contents
Babesia
| Babesia | also called Nuttallia | |
| 1 | infects | Red blood cells |
| 2 | transmitted by | Ticks |
| 3 | Babesia | Protozoan |
| 4 | Disease is called as | Babesiosis |
| 5 | babesiosis | also called piroplasmosis |
| 6 | Maltese-cross form | RBCs- which have a tetrad structure |
| 7 | Splenectomized patients | More susceptible |
| 8 | Most common piroplasm | Babesia microti |
| 9 | Babesiosis seen as Co-infection with | Lyme Disease Co-infection |
Morphologies of Babesia in blood smears –
| Babesia | Differ from malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum in Blood Smear by following points |
|---|---|
| 1 | Varying shapes and sizes |
| 2 | Potential to contain vacuoles |
| 3 | Trophozoites appearing in a tetrad formation |
| 4 | Lack of pigment production |
| 5 | Absence of schizonts and gametocytes |
Complications of acute babesiosis –
Complication in Babesiosis is increased in cases of associated – Anemia Hb < 10 gm%
- renal failure
- dissemin ated intravascular coagulation (DIC),
- acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
- congestive cardiac failure (CCF)
How the parasite is identified in babesiosis?
- Parasite can be identified by –
- Microscopy
amplificarion of babesia1 18S rRNA by PCR is recommended.
Treatment of Babesiosis
| 1 | Atovaquone PLUS azithromycin |
| 2 | OR – Clindamycin PLUS quinine |
Atovaquone 750 mg twice daily, along with azithromycin
500 mg- 1 g/day for a period of 7- 10 days is effective.
