As reported in Medical Xpress; a tick-borne disease, often mistaken for the more common Lyme disease, has begun to spread more rapidly outside of the typical regions in the northeastern United States and China. Those who are bitten suffer from a mild to severe bout of illness. Now, medical professionals are creating new guidelines as to how to diagnose and treat this disease, babesiosis, to equip medical professionals about the new contagion around the country.
Babesiosis
Babesiosis is caused by a tick bite that transmits a parasite that infects the red blood cells. Symptoms include a high fever, fatigue, chills, sweats, headaches, a lack of appetite, and muscle aches. While almost a third of patients don’t experience any symptoms, the disease can be deadly for people who are immunocompromised. While the disease can be severe, it is treatable with antibiotics that are similar to malaria medicine.
The disease is carried by ticks in the northeast and northern midwestern United States, as well as in the northeast of China. However, the disease is increasingly being found in a growing radius, and it’s spreading to other parts of the countries and world. While each year there are around 2,000 cases reported, doctors suspect this number is low due to improper diagnosis. This may be comparable to Lyme disease, which has around 30,000 cases diagnosed this year, but studies suggest that number may be closer to 300,000.
The New Guidelines
The new guidelines are intended to liken diagnosis, with new tools and specific diagnostic criteria to help more doctors and patients to become aware of the condition and how to treat it. The new guidelines with be decided by a committee of 15 medical professionals, chaired by Yale School of Public Health Senior Research Scientist Peter Krause, M.D. He said,
“A lot of time, effort and research went into creating these guidelines. This is very useful, accurate, and up-to-date information that will serve doctors and their patients well for years to come. I am very pleased with the outcome.”
Before this update, the disease had been grouped into a category with other, more well known tick-borne threats like Lyme disease, Human granulocytic anaplasmosis, and Babesiosis Guideline. Before this, it was last updated in 2006, when the disease was less well understood. Since then, doctors have come to understand that babesiosis presents a unique and growing threat. The new guidelines state that a single positive antibody test is insufficient, and the preferred treatment is an antibiotic combination of Atovaquone and Azithromycin, which should be taken for seven to ten days.
Now, scientists are eager to find out more, hoping that these new guidelines will ensure patient’s will receive proper treatment for the disease before it progresses to worse stages.
