Babesiosis is a rare and life-threatening infection of the red blood cells spread by ticks. It is caused by tiny parasites called Babesia. Babesia microti is the type of this parasite that most commonly affects humans. When you are bitten by an infected deer tick, they enter your bloodstream. Babesiosis can also be transmitted through contaminated blood transfusions and transmission from an infected pregnant mother to her baby during pregnancy or during delivery.
Babesiosis symptoms appear 1 to 8 weeks after contact with the parasite that causes the disease. Sometimes you won't notice any symptoms. If you do, you may experience body aches, chills, fatigue, fever, headache, loss of appetite, and sweating. You can also develop hemolytic anemia, which occurs when your red blood cells die faster than your body can make new ones. Confusion, dark-colored urine, dizziness, heart murmur, rapid heart rate, spleen and liver swelling, very pale skin, weakness, and yellow skin, eyes, and mouth (jaundice) are all symptoms of hemolytic anemia.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are steps that can be taken to lower the risk of babesiosis and other tick-borne infections. Preventive measures are especially important for people who are at high risk of developing severe babesiosis (for example, people who do not have a spleen). The best defense is to limit your exposure to tick habitats. Babesia microti is spread by Ixodes scapularis ticks, which are mostly found in wooded, brushy, or grassy areas, in certain regions and seasons. No vaccine is available to protect people against babesiosis. However, people who live, work, or travel in tick-infested areas can take simple steps to help protect themselves against tick bites and tickborne infections:
1. Walk on cleared trails and stay in the center of the trail to avoid coming into contact with leaf litter, brush, and overgrown grasses, which are hotspots for ticks.
2. Wear socks, long pants, and a long-sleeved shirt to reduce your tick exposure. It is also advised to wear light-colored clothing to make ticks easier to see and remove before they attach to the skin.
3. Apply repellents to skin and clothing.
4. Remove ticks that are attached to the skin or clothing as soon as possible before going indoors.
So the next time you get in touch with nature through eco-treks or an escapade in the outskirts of the busy city life, make sure to take precautionary actions by following the preventive measures. Remember, it is always best to prevent a health concern from happening than to invest in a costly medical intervention for a cure later on.
-PNFP Rowence Zorilla
References:
1. What is Babesiosis?
https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/babesiosis-blood-infection
2. Parasites-Babesiosis Prevention and Control
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/babesiosis/prevent.html
3. Babesiosis FAQs
