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Case Reports
. 2017 Jan 17:4:1.
doi: 10.21037/sci.2017.01.02. eCollection 2017.

Babesiosis-associated immune thrombocytopenia

Roshni Narurkar  1 , Aleksandra Mamorska-Dyga  1 , Anup Agarwal  1 , John C Nelson  1 , Delong Liu  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

Babesiosis-associated immune thrombocytopenia

Roshni Narurkar et al. Stem Cell Investig. .

Abstract

Thrombocytopenia is a common feature of babesiosis. The mechanism for thrombocytopenia in babesiosis remains elusive. We report a case of babesiosis with severe new onset immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). In addition to antibiotics treatment for babesiosis, ITP therapy was administered. ITP in the present case was most likely triggered by the babesia infection. The severity of ITP in this case was not proportional to the severity of parasitemia. The neoantigen triggering the autoimmune response in babesiosis requires further characterization.

Keywords: Babesiosis; immune thrombocytopenia (ITP); thrombocytopenia; tick-borne disease.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

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