Babesiosis rates are rising about 9% per year according to the fringe university called Penn State, and once again a mainline university points out what we already know. This parasite travels inside ticks along with other diseases like Lyme, ehrlichia, anaplasma, and others, ultimately infecting red blood cells after a tick bite. Most of the 3,500 documented cases between 2015 and 2022 were in Northeastern and Midwestern states. While not as common as the 100s of thousands of Lyme cases, it is still something to keep in mind not just for acute symptoms but also for chronic conditions as well.
In their study of the 3,500 confirmed cases, they reported that 41% also had Lyme disease while 3.7% demonstrated ehrlichiosis and 0.3% had anaplasmosis. This is not surprising as the Ixodes scapularis (deer tick or black legged tick) are known to carry these different diseases. The CDC website provides a decent picture of the deer tick alongside the Lone Star tick (amblyoma americanum) and American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) for comparisons (https://cdc.gov/lyme/causes/index.html) but part of their information on transmission means is incorrect, as well as some other data.
This paper mentions that six different Babesia species cause human infections with three of them residing in the United States. Babesia microti and Babesia duncani are the two most common in the US. For the acute disease, the mortality rate is 1.4%, rising higher if someone does not have a functioning spleen or is immunodeficient. For those who live through it, they can experience chronic fatigue, congestive heart failure, and kidney failure although many have an asymptomatic infection.
Interestingly, the study reported that those with both Lyme and Babesia did not have a higher disease severity versus those with only Babesia. Different hypotheses were offered for why this is the case including the possibility that doxycycline used for Lyme may have some anti-Babesia activity. Another study cited however disagreed and found a higher severity with coinfections, so that question is still up for debate.
With all this in mind, helping patients restore healthier more abundant lives from chronic illness requires keeping Babesia in mind, especially when tick bites are in the patient’s history or Lyme disease is diagnosed. This study did not address how many patients with Lyme have Babesia, but the overlapping vectors means that it is not uncommon.
Original Article:
Paddy Ssentongo, Natasha Venugopal, Yue Zhang, Vernon M Chinchilli, Djibril M Ba. Beyond Human Babesiosis: Prevalence and Association of Babesia Coinfection with Mortality in the United States, 2015–2022: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Open Forum Infectious Diseases, 2024; 11 (10) DOI: 10.1093/ofid/ofae504
Thanks to Science Daily:
Penn State. “Rates of a tick-borne parasitic disease are on the rise.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 8 October 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/10/241008103800.htm>.
Deer Tick:
Medical Disclaimer:
This article is intended for educational purposes only. I have attempted to confirm the accuracy of these statements but with time, some currently true statements may be proven incorrect. Before making any medical decisions, you should consult your medical provider. I am not a lawyer nor am I a remediator and cannot provide definitive answers in either category. Discuss legal and remediation decisions with appropriate professionals. Sanctuary is not responsible for decisions you make based on this article.
Sanctuary Functional Medicine, under the direction of Dr Eric Potter, IFMCP MD, provides functional medicine services to Nashville, Middle Tennessee and beyond. We frequently treat patients from Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Ohio, Indiana, and more... offering the hope of healthier more abundant lives to those with chronic illness.
