Important Information You Should Know About Babesiosis


by Danica Reynes - Date: 2010-11-19 - Word Count: 689 Share This!

Number of people appear astonished a serious poison like Babeosis could result by a parasitic insect bite. To help you understand more about the infection, you need to learn what Babesiosis is and how can it be contracted, its symptoms, how to diagnose it, how it is treated, its complications, and how to prevent it.

Babesia is an ailment which can be classified as the quite uncommon and still intricately complex ailment. Knowing this disease thoroughly will enable you to ward it off. Some relevant facts are herein providing sufficient knowledge and cognizance about Babesiosis enabling you to find, diagnose, and get the right care of a communicable illness:

The causes and means of transmission of Babesiosis

The blood-born infection that is caused by Babesia microti and Babesia divergens protozoa is known as Babesia, or Babesiosis. It is quite a rare infection that is often transmitted through ticks that also carry Lyme disease. This makes it a possibility that you can get infected with Babesia and Lyme disease simultaneously. Both diseases are common during late spring, summer, and early fall. Also you can contact a Babesia infection from a transfusion with contaminated blood.

What telltale signs are associated with Babesiosis?

In most cases, the symptoms of Babesia will show after a one to four week incubation period following a tick bite. You will feel symptoms like having the flu, consisting of fever, chills, headaches, as well as muscle discomfort that can endure for a few months. Most commonly noticeable at night, you may feel some anemia, depression, nausea, jaundice, vomiting, and sweating. Often, the symptoms often mimic those of malaria

How do you know if it is Babesiosis?

Many past cases of Babesiosis have been mistaken for Malaria. The only difference in symptoms is that Malaria has a period of fever. In order to properly determine whether you have Babesiosis, your symptoms, personal history and the tick bite will all have to be considered, and a blood test must also be taken. A blood test can determine the differences between the two diseases. Patients who suffer from Babesiosis usually have something called a Maltese cross, or tetrads, in the red blood cells, while those who suffer from malaria may have ring-like formation in those same cells. Doctors use a variety of tests to diagnose this condition including IFA tests, PCC techniques and Giema stains.

What is the treatment?

Doctors will often prescribe a combination of anti-parasite medications to treat Babesiosis. You will not get well with common antibiotics, since this infection is not due to bacteria, but rather a parasite. An antibiotic, such as clindamycin, may be used in combination with other drugs, including quinine sulfate. Another antibiotic called Azithromycin can also be combined with an antimalarial drug called Atovaquone. For some situation, blood transfusions can be used as a Babesiosis treatment.

What complications are associated with this condition?

Babesiosis is like any other infection in that if it is not properly addressed and treated, it could cause complications - particularly in the elderly, those with weakened immune systems and those who have undergone surgery to remove their spleens. Severe anemia, low blood pressure, liver problems and even fatalities have been reported in such unhealthy conditions. For those who have contracted Lyme disease too, this may aggravate the condition. However, if you're healthy, Babesiosis should cause only momentary and mild health issues, it is not that harmful.

How can Babesiosis be prevented?

To prevent Babesiosis is to avoid tick bites. Thoroughly cover your body from head to toe when participating in outdoor activities such as hiking, camping or hunting. Wear clothing that adequately covers your arms and legs such as socks, closed-toed shoes, long pants and a shirt with long sleeves. Insect repellents can also be applied. At the end you must frequently check for the presence of ticks on your body or after an outing in grassy and woody areas, particularly during early fall late spring, summer and summer. These are the seasons when ticks are most commonly found.

Because babesiosis cases are quite rare, there is no cause for hysteria. This disease will not hurt you if you take steps to prevent it, know its symptoms in your body and seek treatment.


The symptoms of Babesia can be further studies by checking out http://www.lymediseaseblog.com/babesia-common-lyme-disease-coinfection/.n
n Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles

© The article above is copyrighted by it's author. You're allowed to distribute this work according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs license.
 

Recent articles in this category:



Most viewed articles in this category: