Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Clinical Microbiology logoLink to Journal of Clinical Microbiology
. 1991 Dec;29(12):2779–2783. doi: 10.1128/jcm.29.12.2779-2783.1991

Babesia microti, human babesiosis, and Borrelia burgdorferi in Connecticut.

J F Anderson 1, E D Mintz 1, J J Gadbaw 1, L A Magnarelli 1
PMCID: PMC270432  PMID: 1757548

Abstract

Babesia microti was isolated from a white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) that was captured in southeastern Connecticut in 1988, when the first human case of babesiosis acquired in Connecticut was recognized. To date, 13 cases of babesiosis have been reported in Connecticut, the largest number of human cases reported on the mainland United States. Two of nine patients quiried remembered a prior tick bite. Since Babesia parasites are known to be vectored only by ticks, we surmise that 12 of these infections were acquired via tick bites; 1 was obtained by blood transfusion (the patient was 46 years of age) from an endemically infected donor. The ages of the patients with tick-acquired babesiosis ranged from 61 to 95 years. Two patients died with active infections, and one patient died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease soon after treatment with clindamycin and quinine. Indirect fluorescent-antibody titers of blood samples drawn at the time of hospitalization for 11 patients and at the time of active infection for 1 asymptomatic person ranged from 1:1,024 to 1:4,096. Five of eight patients with babesiosis also had significant immunoglobulin G or immunoglobulin M titers (1:640 to 1:5,120) to Borrelia burgdorferi. B. microti was isolated in Syrian hamsters inoculated with blood from 7 of 12 patients tested and was also isolated from mice captured in six towns. The peridomestic nature of the disease was demonstrated by isolating the parasite from white-footed mice captured in or near the yards of eight different patients. Of 59 mice tested, 27 were positive and 25 were coinfected with B. burgdorferi. The isolation of B. microti from a white-footed mouse captured in north-central Connecticut (West Hartford), away from the focus of human infections in southeastern Connecticut, suggests that this pathogen may spread into other areas where Ixodes dammini, the tick vector, becomes established.

Full text

PDF
2779

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson J. F., Johnson R. C., Magnarelli L. A., Hyde F. W. Identification of endemic foci of Lyme disease: isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi from feral rodents and ticks (Dermacentor variabilis). J Clin Microbiol. 1985 Jul;22(1):36–38. doi: 10.1128/jcm.22.1.36-38.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Anderson J. F., Johnson R. C., Magnarelli L. A., Hyde F. W., Myers J. E. Peromyscus leucopus and Microtus pennsylvanicus simultaneously infected with Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti. J Clin Microbiol. 1986 Jan;23(1):135–137. doi: 10.1128/jcm.23.1.135-137.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Anderson J. F., Johnson R. C., Magnarelli L. A., Hyde F. W., Myers J. E. Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti in mice on islands inhabited by white-tailed deer. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1987 Apr;53(4):892–894. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.4.892-894.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Anderson J. F., Magnarelli L. A., Kurz J. Intraerythrocytic parasites in rodent populations of Connecticut: Babesia and Grahamella species. J Parasitol. 1979 Aug;65(4):599–604. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Barbour A. G. Isolation and cultivation of Lyme disease spirochetes. Yale J Biol Med. 1984 Jul-Aug;57(4):521–525. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Barbour A. G., Tessier S. L., Todd W. J. Lyme disease spirochetes and ixodid tick spirochetes share a common surface antigenic determinant defined by a monoclonal antibody. Infect Immun. 1983 Aug;41(2):795–804. doi: 10.1128/iai.41.2.795-804.1983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Benach J. L., Coleman J. L., Habicht G. S., MacDonald A., Grunwaldt E., Giron J. A. Serological evidence for simultaneous occurrences of Lyme disease and babesiosis. J Infect Dis. 1985 Sep;152(3):473–477. doi: 10.1093/infdis/152.3.473. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Benach J. L., Habicht G. S. Clinical characteristics of human babesiosis. J Infect Dis. 1981 Nov;144(5):481–481. doi: 10.1093/infdis/144.5.481. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Benach J. L., White D. J., McGovern J. P. Babesiosis in Long Island. Host-parasite relationships of rodent- and human-derived Babesia microti isolates in hamsters. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1978 Nov;27(6):1073–1078. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Brandt F., Healy G. R., Welch M. Human babesiosis: the isolation of Babesia microti in golden hamsters. J Parasitol. 1977 Oct;63(5):934–937. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Burgdorfer W., Barbour A. G., Hayes S. F., Benach J. L., Grunwaldt E., Davis J. P. Lyme disease-a tick-borne spirochetosis? Science. 1982 Jun 18;216(4552):1317–1319. doi: 10.1126/science.7043737. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Chisholm E. S., Ruebush T. K., 2nd, Sulzer A. J., Healy G. R. Babesia microti infection in man: evaluation of an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1978 Jan;27(1 Pt 1):14–19. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1978.27.14. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Dammin G. J., Spielman A., Benach J. L., Piesman J. The rising incidence of clinical Babesia microti infection. Hum Pathol. 1981 May;12(5):398–400. doi: 10.1016/s0046-8177(81)80020-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Falco R. C., Fish D. Prevalence of Ixodes dammini near the homes of Lyme disease patients in Westchester County, New York. Am J Epidemiol. 1988 Apr;127(4):826–830. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114865. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Johnson R. C., Marek N., Kodner C. Infection of Syrian hamsters with Lyme disease spirochetes. J Clin Microbiol. 1984 Dec;20(6):1099–1101. doi: 10.1128/jcm.20.6.1099-1101.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Magnarelli L. A., Meegan J. M., Anderson J. F., Chappell W. A. Comparison of an indirect fluorescent-antibody test with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for serological studies of Lyme disease. J Clin Microbiol. 1984 Aug;20(2):181–184. doi: 10.1128/jcm.20.2.181-184.1984. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Mintz E. D., Anderson J. F., Cable R. G., Hadler J. L. Transfusion-transmitted babesiosis: a case report from a new endemic area. Transfusion. 1991 May;31(4):365–368. doi: 10.1046/j.1537-2995.1991.31491213305.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Piesman J., Mather T. N., Telford S. R., 3rd, Spielman A. Concurrent Borrelia burgdorferi and Babesia microti infection in nymphal Ixodes dammini. J Clin Microbiol. 1986 Sep;24(3):446–447. doi: 10.1128/jcm.24.3.446-447.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Schwan T. G., Burgdorfer W., Schrumpf M. E., Karstens R. H. The urinary bladder, a consistent source of Borrelia burgdorferi in experimentally infected white-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus). J Clin Microbiol. 1988 May;26(5):893–895. doi: 10.1128/jcm.26.5.893-895.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Scrimenti R. J. Erythema chronicum migrans. Arch Dermatol. 1970 Jul;102(1):104–105. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Sinsky R. J., Piesman J. Ear punch biopsy method for detection and isolation of Borrelia burgdorferi from rodents. J Clin Microbiol. 1989 Aug;27(8):1723–1727. doi: 10.1128/jcm.27.8.1723-1727.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Spielman A., Etkind P., Piesman J., Ruebush T. K., 2nd, Juranek D. D., Jacobs M. S. Reservoir hosts of human babesiosis on Nantucket Island. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1981 May;30(3):560–565. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1981.30.560. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Spielman A. Human babesiosis on Nantucket Island: transmission by nymphal Ixodes ticks. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 1976 Nov;25(6):784–787. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.1976.25.784. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Steere A. C. Lyme disease. N Engl J Med. 1989 Aug 31;321(9):586–596. doi: 10.1056/NEJM198908313210906. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Steere A. C., Malawista S. E. Cases of Lyme disease in the United States: locations correlated with distribution of Ixodes dammini. Ann Intern Med. 1979 Nov;91(5):730–733. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-91-5-730. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Steere A. C., Malawista S. E., Snydman D. R., Shope R. E., Andiman W. A., Ross M. R., Steele F. M. Lyme arthritis: an epidemic of oligoarticular arthritis in children and adults in three connecticut communities. Arthritis Rheum. 1977 Jan-Feb;20(1):7–17. doi: 10.1002/art.1780200102. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Steketee R. W., Eckman M. R., Burgess E. C., Kuritsky J. N., Dickerson J., Schell W. L., Godsey M. S., Jr, Davis J. P. Babesiosis in Wisconsin. A new focus of disease transmission. JAMA. 1985 May 10;253(18):2675–2678. doi: 10.1001/jama.253.18.2675. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  28. Van Peenen P. F., Healy G. R. Infection of Microtus ochrogaster with piroplasms isolated from man. J Parasitol. 1970 Oct;56(5):1029–1031. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  29. Western K. A., Benson G. D., Gleason N. N., Healy G. R., Schultz M. G. Babesiosis in a Massachusetts resident. N Engl J Med. 1970 Oct 15;283(16):854–856. doi: 10.1056/NEJM197010152831607. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Clinical Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES