16 Facts About Babesia

1.

Babesia, called Nuttallia, is an apicomplexan parasite that infects red blood cells and is transmitted by ticks.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,449
2.

Babesia is a protozoan parasite found to infect vertebrate animals, mostly livestock mammals and birds, but occasionally humans.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,450
3.

Avian Babesia species are characterized as having ring and amoeboid forms, and fan-shaped or cruciform tetrad schizonts.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,451
4.

Babesia documented the disease by describing signs of a severe hemolytic illness seen uniquely in cattle and sheep.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,452
5.

Babesia show host specificity, allowing many different subspecies of Babesia to emerge, each infecting a different kind of vertebrate organism.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,453
6.

Different species of Babesia are able to withstand the stress of the host's immune system.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,454
7.

Babesia can be diagnosed at the trophozoite stage, and can be transmitted from human to human through the tick vector, through blood transfusions, or through congenital transmission.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,455
8.

Babesia species are spread through the saliva of a tick when it bites.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,456
9.

Some species of Babesia can be transmitted from a female tick to its offspring before migrating to salivary glands for feeding.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,457
10.

Currently, no vectors for avian Babesia have been identified, but they are assumed to be ticks.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,458
11.

Babesia species require competent vertebrate and invertebrate hosts to maintain transmission cycles.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,459
12.

Babesia poelea was described from brown boobies on Sand Island, Johnston Atoll, Central Pacific.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,460
13.

Babesia peircei has been observed in 2 species of penguins, the jackass penguin from South Africa and the little penguin from southern Australia.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,461
14.

Babesia bennetti was associated from the yellow-legged gull from Benidorm Island off the coast of Spain.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,462
15.

Babesia species enter red blood cells at the sporozoite stage.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,463
16.

The few distinguishing factors for Babesia include protozoa with varying shapes and sizes, the potential to contain vacuoles, and the lack of pigment production.

FactSnippet No. 2,497,464