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Case report: First report on human infection by tick-borne Babesia bigemina in the Amazon region of Ecuador.

Calvopiña, M; Montesdeoca-Andrade, M; Bastidas-Caldes, C; Enriquez, S; Rodríguez-Hidalgo, R; Aguilar-Rodríguez, D; Cooper, P (2023) Case report: First report on human infection by tick-borne Babesia bigemina in the Amazon region of Ecuador. Front Public Health, 11. p. 1079042. ISSN 2296-2565 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1079042
SGUL Authors: Cooper, Philip John

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Abstract

Babesiosis is a protozoan disease acquired by the bite of different species of ticks. More than 100 Babesia spp. infect wild and domestic animals worldwide, but only a few have been documented to infect humans. Generally, babesiosis is asymptomatic in immunocompetent persons; however, in immunocompromised can be life-threatening. A 13-year-old boy from the Amazon region presented with a 3-month evolution of fever, chills, general malaise, and arthralgia accompanied by anemia and jaundice. In the last 4 years was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. By nested-PCR using 18S RNA ribosomal gene as target and DNA sequencing, the phylogenetic analysis showed Babesia bigemina as the causative agent in the blood. Treatment with oral quinine plus clindamycin for six continuous weeks was effective with no relapse occurring during 12 months of follow-up. This is the second human case in Ecuador but the first caused by the zoonotic B. bigemina which confirms the existence of active transmission that should alert public health decision-making authorities on the emergence of this zoonosis and the need for research to determine strategies to reduce tick exposure.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: Copyright © 2023 Calvopiña, Montesdeoca-Andrade, Bastidas-Caldes, Enriquez, Rodríguez-Hidalgo, Aguilar-Rodríguez and Cooper. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Keywords: Amazon, Babesia bigemina, Ecuador, babesiosis, case report, tick-borne, zoonosis, Animals, Male, Humans, Adolescent, Babesia, Ticks, Babesiosis, Ecuador, Phylogeny, Animals, Humans, Ticks, Babesia, Babesiosis, Phylogeny, Adolescent, Ecuador, Male, babesiosis, Babesia bigemina, case report, zoonosis, tick-borne, Ecuador, Amazon, 1117 Public Health and Health Services
SGUL Research Institute / Research Centre: Academic Structure > Infection and Immunity Research Institute (INII)
Journal or Publication Title: Front Public Health
ISSN: 2296-2565
Language: eng
Dates:
DateEvent
4 August 2023Published
17 July 2023Accepted
Publisher License: Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0
PubMed ID: 37601195
Web of Science ID: WOS:001050504400001
Go to PubMed abstract
URI: https://openaccess.sgul.ac.uk/id/eprint/115756
Publisher's version: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1079042

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