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. 2021 May 25;11(6):947.
doi: 10.3390/diagnostics11060947.

Detection of Babesia odocoilei in Humans with Babesiosis Symptoms

John D Scott  1 , Muhammad S Sajid  1   2 , Emily L Pascoe  1 , Janet E Foley  1
Affiliations

Detection of Babesia odocoilei in Humans with Babesiosis Symptoms

John D Scott et al. Diagnostics (Basel). .

Abstract

Human babesiosis is a life-threatening infectious disease that causes societal and economic impact worldwide. Several species of Babesia cause babesiosis in terrestrial vertebrates, including humans. A one-day clinic was held in Ontario, Canada, to see if a red blood cell parasite, which is present in blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, is present in humans. Based on PCR testing and DNA sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene, we unveiled B. odocoilei in two of 19 participants. DNA amplicons from these two patients are almost identical matches with the type strains of B. odocoilei in GenBank. In addition, the same two human subjects had the hallmark symptoms of human babesiosis, including night sweats, chills, fevers, and profound fatigue. Based on symptoms and molecular identification, we provide substantive evidence that B. odocoilei is pathogenic to humans. Dataset reveals that B. odocoilei serologically cross-reacts with Babesia duncani. Clinicians must realize that there are more than two Babesia spp. in North America that cause human babesiosis. This discovery signifies the first report of B. odocoilei causing human babesiosis.

Keywords: 18S rRNA; Babesia odocoilei; Ixodes scapularis; human babesiosis; human pathogen; molecular identification; parasite; piroplasm; ticks; white-tailed deer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree of 18S rRNA sequences amplified from human blood with 13 published sequences of ten different reference Babesia species for comparison, plus Plasmodium falciparum as an outgroup, represent the relationship of Subject 1 and Subject 2 to other Babesia spp. Alphanumeric values in brackets denote published GenBank sequences. The scale bar represents the percentage of genetic variation along the tree branches.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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