Babesiosis

[Monty]

Babesiosis is infection of red blood cells caused by the single-celled protozoan parasite Babesia.

Babesiosis is transmitted by the same type of deer ticks (Ixodidae) that transmits Lyme disease.
Babesiosis may cause fever, headache, body aches, and fatigue.
To diagnose babesiosis, doctors examine a sample of blood under a microscope and look for the protozoa or do blood tests.
Preventing tick bites helps prevent babesiosis.
Most otherwise healthy people do not need to be treated, but if symptoms develop, people are usually given a combination of drugs.

(See also Overview of Parasitic Infections.)
Babesia are protozoans that live inside red blood cells and eventually destroy them. Babesiosis is transmitted by the same type of deer ticks (family Ixodidae) that transmits Lyme disease. These ticks may be infected with the protozoa that cause babesiosis and the bacteria that cause Lyme disease or those that cause other tick-borne diseases such as anaplasmosis.
Babesiosis is common among animals but is relatively uncommon among people. In the United States, Babesia microti infects people on the offshore islands or coastal regions of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York (including eastern Long Island and Shelter Island), and New Jersey. Cases also occur in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Other Babesia species infect people in Missouri, Washington, and California and in other areas of the world.

[Little_Girl]

A disease of cattle and other livestock, transmitted by the bite of ticks. It affects the red blood cells and causes the passing of red or blackish urine.