First report of Babesia divergens infection in an HIV patient

Autor: Luis M. González, Emma Castro, Cheryl A. Lobo, Alberto Richart, Raquel Ramiro, Fernando González-Camacho, Daniel Luque, Aurelio C. Velasco, Estrella Montero
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2015
Předmět:
Zdroj: International Journal of Infectious Diseases, Vol 33, Iss C, Pp 202-204 (2015)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 1201-9712
1878-3511
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2015.02.005
Popis: Human babesiosis is a zoonosis primarily transmitted through Ixodes ticks and alternatively by routes such as blood transfusions from asymptomatic donors. We report the first case of human babesiosis caused by Babesia divergens in a patient with HIV. This study also focuses on elucidating the possible transmission route of infection in this patient, who received numerous blood transfusions but showed patent symptoms only after splenectomy. A battery of detection tools along with a novel Western-Blot Assay and Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay using the major surface protein of B. divergens (Bd37) as a target were used to evaluate the presence of B. divergens or antibodies against the parasite in samples from the patient and the blood donors involved in this case. A retrospective study of the humoral status against the parasite revealed B. divergens IgG antibodies in one of the implicated donors, but also showed that the patient had been already exposed to the parasite before any transfusion. Thus, this analysis of natural and transfusion transmission routes suggests a pre-existing subclinical babesiosis in the patient.
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