Babesia, a tickborne parasite of red blood cells, is being transmitted through blood transfusions, according to results of a collaborative study, led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from the past three decades data. Transfusion–associated cases of babesiosis have been increasing since 1979, the year the first known case occurred.
The article about the study and an accompanying editorial appear today online in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
In the report, CDC and collaborators describe 159 transfusion–related babesiosis cases that occurred during 1979–2009, most (77 percent) from 2000 to 2009. No Babesia test approved by the Food and Drug Administration is available for screening prospective blood donors, who can feel fine despite being infected.
Babesiosis is a potentially fatal but treatable complication of transfusion. Severe consequences, such as multi–organ failure and death, are most often seen in persons without a spleen, the elderly, and those with a weak immune system. The study authors say prevention strategies, including development of a screening test, are needed. Some manufacturers are working with investigators at blood establishments to develop FDA–approved tests for Babesia for donor–screening purposes.
Babesiosis is commonly by ticks, the risk of this disease is another reason for people to prevent tick bites. People who unknowingly become infected through the bite of a tiny tick (about the size of a poppy seed) can transmit the parasite via blood transfusion. Preventing the tick bite is the key.
Most U.S. tickborne Babesia cases have occurred in seven states in the Northeast and the upper Midwest (in parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin), particularly during the warm months of the year. However, transfusion–associatedBabesia cases have been identified in 19 states and have occurred year–round.
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