Some ticks carry a dangerous bacteria.
Babesiosis, a bacterial infection which causes severe diseases and even death, is becoming a growing threat to the U.S. blood supply, government researchers said on September 5.
No tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration can detect the infection before people donate blood. A study over the last 31 years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that Babesiosis may be increasing in frequency in the U.S.A.
An infection manifests itself as anemia, fever, chills and fatigue, but organ failure and even death occur. The rare disease occurs in seven states: Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. 162 cases of Babesia occurred between 1979 and 2009, with 80 percent occurring from 2000 to 2009.
The CDC has written that babesia microti represent the most common parasite transmitted in the United States, far outpacing malarial infections, for which there were only five cases from 2000 to 2009.
A separate study was published on September 5 by the journal Pediatrics, in which a team at the University of Nebraska looked at seven cases of Babesiosis in premature infants who had received transfusions. The seven cases all came from two units of infected blood. Although symptoms vary widely, the researchers noted that infants with low birth weights were particularly susceptible to serious symptoms.
CDC researchers have also called for better ways to prevent and detect cases of Babesiosis associated with transfusions.
-- summarized from a Reuters report available at http://news.yahoo.com/tick-borne-parasite-infecting-blood-supply-cdc-220254618.html
Babesiosis, a bacterial infection which causes severe diseases and even death, is becoming a growing threat to the U.S. blood supply, government researchers said on September 5.
No tests approved by the Food and Drug Administration can detect the infection before people donate blood. A study over the last 31 years by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that Babesiosis may be increasing in frequency in the U.S.A.
An infection manifests itself as anemia, fever, chills and fatigue, but organ failure and even death occur. The rare disease occurs in seven states: Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Wisconsin. 162 cases of Babesia occurred between 1979 and 2009, with 80 percent occurring from 2000 to 2009.
The CDC has written that babesia microti represent the most common parasite transmitted in the United States, far outpacing malarial infections, for which there were only five cases from 2000 to 2009.
A separate study was published on September 5 by the journal Pediatrics, in which a team at the University of Nebraska looked at seven cases of Babesiosis in premature infants who had received transfusions. The seven cases all came from two units of infected blood. Although symptoms vary widely, the researchers noted that infants with low birth weights were particularly susceptible to serious symptoms.
CDC researchers have also called for better ways to prevent and detect cases of Babesiosis associated with transfusions.
-- summarized from a Reuters report available at http://news.yahoo.com/tick-borne-parasite-infecting-blood-supply-cdc-220254618.html
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