Comment in:
Ann Intern Med. 1997 Jan 15;126(2):172.

A fatal case of babesiosis in Missouri: identification of another piroplasm that infects humans.

Herwaldt B, Persing DH, Precigout EA, Goff WL, Mathiesen DA, Taylor PW, Eberhard ML, Gorenflot AF.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the etiologic agents (MO1) of the first reported case of babesiosis acquired in Missouri. DESIGN: Case report, serologic testing, animal inoculations, and molecular studies. SETTING: Southeastern Missouri. PATIENT: A 73-year-old man who had had a splenectomy and had a fatal case of babesiosis. MEASUREMENTS: Serum specimens from the patient were assayed by indirect immunofluorescent antibody testing and immunoprecipitation for reactivity with antigens from various Babesia species. Whole blood obtained from the patient before treatment was inoculated into hamsters and jirds and into calves and bighorn sheep that had had splenectomy and were immunosuppressed with dexamethasone. Piroplasm-specific nuclear small-subunit ribosomal DNA was recovered from the patient's blood by using broad-range amplification with the polymerase chain reaction; a 144 base-pair region of the amplification product was sequenced; and phylogenetic analysis was done to compare MO1 with various Babesia species. RESULTS: Indirect immunofluorescent antibody testing showed that the patient's serum had strong reactivity with Babesia divergens, which causes babesiosis in cattle and humans in Europe, but that it had minimal reactivity with B. microti and WA1, which are the piroplasms previously known to cause zoonotic babesiosis in the United States. Immunoprecipitations showed that MO1 is more closely related to B. divergens than to B. canis (a canine parasite). None of the experimentally inoculated animals became demonstrably parasitemic. Phylogenetic analyses, after DNA sequencing, showed that MO1 is most closely related to B. divergens (100% similarity). CONCLUSIONS: Although MO1 is probably distinct from B. divergens, the two share morphologic, antigenic, and genetic characteristics; MO1 probably represents a Babesia species not previously recognized to have infected humans. Medical personnel should be aware that patients in the United States can have life-threatening babesiosis even though they are seronegative to B. microti and WA1 antigen.

Publication Types:
Case Reports

PMID: 8607592 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Plus he addresses many other issues that Lyme affects, such as nutrition, hormones, etc. His treatment and advice have saved me.

He is very caring and since he believes in treating for co-infections anyway and the fact that testing is costly and not reliable, he, therefore, saves your pocketbook.

Being a patient of Dr. C's means you will be treated thoroughly and completely in the hopes of recovery of living as Lyme-free as possible.

Remember, the tests are VERY unreliable. So if your test comes up negative, he would still want you to take the meds for the co-infection, just in case.

After 4 1/2 yrs on this board, I have found tons of people who THOUGHT they didn't have babesia because their dr tested them for it and said they didn't have it.

Then after 2 yrs or so of getting worse and worse, they finally get treated for babs, or bart...whatever. And BINGO, they begin to get well.

Next time you see doc...ask him to test you! He'll do it!

I was first treated by DR C 4 1/2 yrs ago and back then he was testing for the co-infections. My test for babs was borderline, but I found when he treated me for it that I had it BIGtime!

He treated for them though.I also had other infections and 3 strains lyme.

I probaly got two here and one in new england been there 10 times in the fall I know I know worst time to be out and about ticks are really ravenous around that time. Of I also remember getting chewed on by black flies there.