Parasites, Hosts and Diseases

The Korea Society for Parasitology and Tropical Medicine (대한기생충학·열대의학회)
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Imported human babesiosis in the Republic of Korea, 2019: two case reports

  • Hyun Jung Kim (Division of Vectors and Parasitic Diseases, Korea Disease Control, and Prevention Agency) ;
  • Min Jae Kim (Department of Infectious Diseases, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine) ;
  • Hyun-Il Shin (Division of Vectors and Parasitic Diseases, Korea Disease Control, and Prevention Agency) ;
  • Jung-Won Ju (Division of Vectors and Parasitic Diseases, Korea Disease Control, and Prevention Agency) ;
  • Hee-Il Lee (Division of Vectors and Parasitic Diseases, Korea Disease Control, and Prevention Agency)
  • Received : 2022.12.18
  • Accepted : 2023.01.27
  • Published : 2023.02.28
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Abstract

Human babesiosis is a tick-borne disease induced by the genus Babesia and has been significantly reported in the Republic of Korea. This report shows the cases of 2 patients with human babesiosis who traveled to the USA in 2019. The 2 patients experienced fever and had travel histories to babesiosis-endemic regions. The diagnoses of both cases were verified by the identification of Babesia-infected red blood cells on blood smears. One patient was found to be infected with Babesia microti using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for 18S rRNA, which discovered the phylogenetic link to the B. microti strain endemic in the USA. The 2 patients recovered from fever with subsequent hemoparasite clearance. Babesiosis could be diagnosed in anyone with histories of travel to babesiosis-endemic countries and tick bites. Furthermore, Babesia-specific PCR is required for determining geno-and phenotypic characteristics.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was supported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (grant no. 6331-311-210).

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