Protozoan Parasite Babesia microti Subverts Adaptive Immunity and Enhances Lyme Disease Severity.

ABSTRACT: Lyme disease is the most prominent tick-borne disease in the United States. Co-infections with the tick-transmitted pathogens Babesia microti and Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto are becoming a serious health problem. B. burgdorferi is an extracellular spirochete that causes Lyme disease while B. microti is a protozoan that infects erythrocytes and causes babesiosis. Testing of donated blood for Babesia species is not currently mandatory due to unavailability of an FDA approved test. Transmission of this protozoan by blood transfusion often results in high morbidity and mortality in recipients. Infection of C3H/HeJ mice with B. burgdorferi and B. microti individually results in inflammatory Lyme disease and display of human babesiosis-like

SUBMITTER: Djokic V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6635642 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature