Abstract
Apicomplexan parasites of the genus Babesia cause babesiosis in humans and animals. The microscopic examination of stained blood smears, detection of serum antibodies by immunoassays, and PCR-based identification of parasite nucleic acid in blood are common laboratory methods for diagnosing babesiosis. The present study evaluated a commercially available Babesia genus-specific fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test for detecting Babesia parasites in blood smears. The FISH test detected Babesia duncani and Babesia microti, two common species that cause human infections in the USA, and other Babesia species of human and veterinary importance in less than two hours. The Babesia genus-specific FISH test supplements other existing laboratory methods for diagnosing babesiosis and may be particularly useful in resource-limited laboratories.
Highlights
Protozoan parasites of the genus Babesia that cause babesiosis in humans and animals [1,2,3] led to 2358 confirmed human infections in the US in 2017 [4]
Human babesiosis is principally caused by Babesia microti, B. duncani, and B. divergens in the US [2,3,4]
The BLASTn analysis predicted that the Babesia genus probes would detect the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) of all the animal and human Babesia parasite species in the NCBI database and may weakly detect Cytauxzoon felis 18S rRNA under the fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) test conditions
Summary
Protozoan parasites of the genus Babesia that cause babesiosis in humans and animals [1,2,3] led to 2358 confirmed human infections in the US in 2017 [4]. Babesia are apicomplexan parasites that replicate within red blood cells and are transmitted to humans by ticks that acquire infections from reservoir animals such as white-footed mice [3,4]. Human babesiosis is principally caused by Babesia microti, B. duncani, and B. divergens in the US [2,3,4]. Babesia infect cattle (e.g., B. bovis, B. divergens, B. bigemina), horses (e.g., B. caballi), domestic pets (e.g., B. canis in dogs, B. felis in cats), deer (e.g., B. odocolei, B. venatorum), mice (e.g., B. microti, B. rodhani), and other animals [3]. I. ricinus, I. persulcatus, and Dermacentor albipictus are examples of hard ticks that transmit
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