The Dermacentor Reticulatus, the tick that transmits Lyme disease, unfortunately has more arrows in its quiver. When this tick carries the Babesia parasite, it can also transmit Babesiosis. This disease is better known as tick fever. An infection with Babesiosis luckily is still rare in humans, but there are indications that the risk is increasing. Don't give Babesiosis a chance. Prevent tick fever by wearing tick-repellent clothing during a nature walk. You will find more information about Babesiosis below.

What is Babesia?

Babesia is a so-called protozoan; a single-celled microorganism that attacks and destroys red blood cells. Babesia is a malaria-like parasite of which 70 species exist.

The tick that transmits Babesia is the Dermacentor reticulatus, from the Ixodes family. An infection with Babesia following a tick bite is very rare in humans so far. Animals are much more often infected with Babesia after a tick bite. For example, sheep and cattle get redwater fever (hemolytic anemia) as a result of an infection with Babesia microti. Dogs also form a specific risk group.

Since 1957, the medical literature has reported human patients with a Babesia infection. Initially, these were people without a spleen, but later also hundreds of patients who still had their spleen when they got the infection. In total, it concerns several hundred cases in the United States and a few dozen patients in Europe. In the Netherlands, ticks infected with Babesia have been found, but no humans with a Babesia infection yet.

The likelihood of Babesia infection among humans may be increasing, as the transmitting tick (the Dermacentor reticulatus) is increasingly observed in Northern Europe. This is linked to global warming and the climate change associated with it.

What is Babesiosis?

Babesiosis is an infection caused by a Babesia protozoan. This blood parasite enters the red blood cells and then destroys them. Since red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen in our body, Babesiosis can severely threaten the patient's health. Besides malaria-like symptoms, Babesiosis can cause hemolytic anemia. This is a severe form of anemia. The incubation period of Babesiosis after a tick bite is one to three weeks and sometimes even six weeks. After a blood transfusion, the incubation period is nine weeks.

What are the symptoms of Babesiosis?

The first symptoms of Babesiosis appear within two to four weeks after the tick bite. Pale mucous membranes can indicate anemia due to the damage Babesia causes to the red blood cells. Another specific symptom is blood in the urine; the red blood cells break down, the red coloring (hemoglobin) is released and colors the urine red. Furthermore, a Babesia infection usually causes a high fever.

The symptoms that occur at a later stage of the infection depend on which organs are damaged and the timing and success of the treatment. For people without a spleen or with reduced resistance due to another disease (or an immune system disorder), the symptoms are usually more severe. They may die as a result of Babesiosis.

Babesiosis is accompanied by a large number of symptoms that can also occur in other infections, such as:

exhaustion
night sweats
fever
chills
weight loss
nausea
abdominal pain
diarrhea
cough
shortness of breath
headache

In a dog with a Babesia infection, lethargy, red-colored urine, pale mucous membranes, and fever are the most characteristic symptoms.

How is Babesiosis diagnosed?

Because the mentioned symptoms also occur in so many other (infectious) diseases, Babesiosis in a human or animal is not easy to diagnose.

Have you been in a Southern European country with your dog for a while and does he or she exhibit the most characteristic symptoms of Babesiosis? Such as pale mucous membranes and blood in the urine? Then seriously consider Babesiosis.

A thorough investigation is always needed to determine whether the complaints are caused by Babesiosis or something else. Sometimes the Babesia parasites are visible in a blood smear. The diagnosis of Babesiosis can then be made directly. If this is not possible with a smear, more research will follow, such as looking for the presence of antibodies against Babesia.

How is Babesiosis treated?

In otherwise healthy people, treatment after a Babesiosis infection is not always necessary. They recover fully within two to three weeks. But especially because Babesiosis is so rare in Europe, suspicion of it will usually lead to quick and careful medical intervention.

There are special medications on the market against Babesiosis. An effective treatment is, for example, the combined use of the drugs atovaquone and azithromycin. Chloroquine and other antimalarial drugs are not effective for Babesiosis.

In diagnosing and treating Babesiosis, attention must be paid to a possible double infection with other pathogens that ticks can carry. Consider an infection with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease.

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