Skip to main content
. 2009 Aug 27;2009:984568. doi: 10.1155/2009/984568

Table 3.

Treatment of babesiosis.

Treatment Dose Frequency
Atovaquone and azithromycin
Atovaquone Adult: 750 mg Every 12 hours
Child: 20 mg/kg Every 12 hours
(maximum 750 mg/dose)
Azithromycin Adult: 500 to 1000 mg On day 1
250 to 1000 mg On subsequent days
Child: 10 mg/kg On day 1
(maximum 500 mg/dose)
5 mg/kg On subsequent days
(maximum 250 mg/dose)
Clindamycin and quinine
Clindamycin Adult: 600 mg Every 8 hours
Child: 7–10 mg/kg Every 6–8 hours
(maximum 600 mg/dose)
Intravenous administration
Adult: 300–600 mg Every 6 hours
Child: 7–10 mg/kg Every 6–8 hours
(maximum 600 mg/dose)
Quinine Adult: 650 mg Every 6–8 hours
Child: 8 mg/kg Every 8 hours
(maximum 650 mg/dose)

All antibiotics are administered by mouth unless otherwise specified. All doses are administered for 7 to 10 days except for persistent relapsing infection (see text). For immunocompromised patients experiencing babesiosis, successful outcome has been reported using atovaquone combined with higher doses of azithromycin (600–1000 mg per day) [78].

Complete or partial exchange transfusion should be considered for treatment of severe babesiosis.