PEDIATRICS Vol. 89 No. 6 June 1992, pp. 1045-1048
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Krause, P. J.
Right arrow Articles by Spielman, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Krause, P. J.
Right arrow Articles by Spielman, A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Babesiosis: An Underdiagnosed Disease of Children

Peter J. Krause MD1, Sam R. Telford III ScD2, Richard J. Pollack PhD2, Raymond Ryan PhD3, Peter Brassard MD4, Lawrence Zemel MD1, and Andrew Spielman ScD2

1 From the Department of Pediatrics, The University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington; Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT; The University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington; Newington Children's Hospital. Newington, CT
2 From the Department of Tropical Public Health, The Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA
3 From the Department of Laboratory Medicine, The University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington; Hartford Hospital, Hartford, CT; The University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington; Newington Children's Hospital. Newington, CT
4 From the Department of Family Medicine, Brown University School of Medicine, Providence, RI.

Babesiosis is a malaria-like illness caused by the intraerythrocytic parasite Babesia microti and is transmitted by the same tick that transmits Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Babesiosis is well recognized in adult residents of southern New England and New York but has been described in only five children. To determine whether children are infected with B microti less often than are adults, a prospective serosurvey was carried out on Block Island, RI, where babesiosis is endemic. Randomly recruited subjects completed a questionnaire and provided a blood sample. Antibodies against B microti and B burgdorferi were measured using a standard indirect immunofluorescence assay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Of 574 subjects, 9% tested positive for B microti, including 12% of the 52 children (7 months through 16 years) and 8% of the 522 adults (not significant, P < .6). Although babesiosis had not been diagnosed in any of the Babesia-seropositive subjects, 25% of the children and 20% of the adults reported symptoms compatible with this infection during the previous year. Of the 6 children and 45 adults seropositive for B burgdorferi, 17% and 14%, respectively, were also seropositive for B microti. It is concluded that children are infected with B microti no less frequently than are adults and that this infection is underdiagnosed in all age groups. Physicians who practice where Lyme disease is endemic should become familiar with the clinical presentation and diagnosis of babesiosis, both in adults and children.

Key Words: Babesiosis • Babesia microti • Lyme disease

Submitted on July 25, 1991
Accepted on September 27, 1991


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Am J Trop Med HygHome page
P. J. KRAUSE, K. MCKAY, J. GADBAW, D. CHRISTIANSON, L. CLOSTER, T. LEPORE, S. R. TELFORD III, V. SIKAND, R. RYAN, D. PERSING, et al.
INCREASING HEALTH BURDEN OF HUMAN BABESIOSIS IN ENDEMIC SITES
Am J Trop Med Hyg, April 1, 2003; 68(4): 431 - 436.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J. Clin. Microbiol.Home page
K.-P. Hunfeld, A. Lambert, H. Kampen, S. Albert, C. Epe, V. Brade, and A. M. Tenter
Seroprevalence of Babesia Infections in Humans Exposed to Ticks in Midwestern Germany
J. Clin. Microbiol., July 1, 2002; 40(7): 2431 - 2436.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 CVIHome page
K. A. Bryant and G. S. Marshall
Clinical Manifestations of Tick-Borne Infections in Children
Clin. Vaccine Immunol., July 1, 2000; 7(4): 523 - 527.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Clin. Microbiol. Rev.Home page
M. J. Homer, I. Aguilar-Delfin, S. R. Telford III, P. J. Krause, and D. H. Persing
Babesiosis
Clin. Microbiol. Rev., July 1, 2000; 13(3): 451 - 469.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Infect. Immun.Home page
M. J. Lodes, R. L. Houghton, E. S. Bruinsma, R. Mohamath, L. D. Reynolds, D. R. Benson, P. J. Krause, S. G. Reed, and D. H. Persing
Serological Expression Cloning of Novel Immunoreactive Antigens of Babesia microti
Infect. Immun., May 1, 2000; 68(5): 2783 - 2790.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 JAMAHome page
P. J. Krause, S. R. Telford III, A. Spielman, V. Sikand, R. Ryan, D. Christianson, G. Burke, P. Brassard, R. Pollack, J. Peck, et al.
Concurrent Lyme Disease and Babesiosis: Evidence for Increased Severity and Duration of Illness
JAMA, June 5, 1996; 275(21): 1657 - 1660.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 NEJMHome page
L. C. Marcus and A. R. Mattia
Case 28-1993- A 63-Year-Old Man with Fever, Sweats, and Shaking Chills
N. Engl. J. Med., July 15, 1993; 329(3): 194 - 199.
[Full Text]

Home page
 JWatch GeneralHome page
A BABESIOSIS ALERT
Journal Watch (General), June 23, 1992; 1992(623): 5 - 5.
[Full Text]