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A New Focus of Disease Transmission

Richard W. Steketee, MD, MPH; Mark R. Eckman, MD; Elizabeth C. Burgess, DVM, PhD; Joel N. Kuritsky, MD; Jennifer Dickerson; Wendy L. Schell, MS; Marvin S. Godsey, Jr; Jeffrey P. Davis, MD

JAMA. 1985;253(18):2675-2678.

Abstract
A confirmed case of human babesiosis was identified in August 1983 in a 54-year-old asplenic Wisconsin resident. Babesia microti was identified as the causative agent by blood smear morphology and hamster inoculation techniques. The patient's wife had clinically confirmed Lyme disease in 1981 and had serologic evidence (immunofluorescent antibody to a B microti titer of 1:1,024) of recent Babesia infection in August 1983. Mice (Peromyscus species) trapped on the patients' property and elsewhere in their Wisconsin county of residence were infected with B microti. Lyme disease and babesiosis have the same tick vector and animal reservoir; serum samples from 116 Wisconsin and Minnesota residents with clinically confirmed Lyme disease between 1980 and 1983 were tested, and none were found to have concurrent Babesia infection. This area of Wisconsin is identified as a new focus for babesiosis transmission, but the risk of transmission seems to be low.

(JAMA 1985;253:2675-2678)

Author Affiliations
From the Division of Field Services, Epidemiology Program Office (Dr Steketee), and the Division of Parasitic Diseases, Center for Infectious Disease (Ms Dickerson), Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta; the Bureau of Community Health and Prevention, Wisconsin Division of Health, Madison (Drs Steketee and Davis and Ms Schell); the Department of Infectious Disease, the Duluth (Minn) Clinic (Dr Eckman); the Research Animal Resources Center and University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine (Dr Burgess), the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine (Dr Davis), and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Mr Godsey), Madison; and the Minnesota State Department of Health, Minneapolis (Dr Kuritsky).

Footnotes
Reprint requests to the Division of Field Services, Epidemiology Program Office, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA 30338 (Dr Steketee).

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