Research led by Ellen Stromdahl (Defense Centers for Public Health-Aberdeen)
Baltimore, Delmarva Peninsula Among Hotspots; Most Doctors Don’t Think To Test For Disease
In A Nutshell
- A new study finds blacklegged ticks carrying Babesia microti, the parasite that causes babesiosis, have expanded into Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., and West Virginia.
- Researchers detected the parasite in 2.7% of ticks collected from 2010 to 2024, with some hotspots showing infection rates as high as 12.5%.
- Half of infected ticks also carried Lyme disease bacteria, and one was triple-infected with three dangerous pathogens.
- Doctors are advised to include babesiosis in differential diagnoses, especially since it doesn’t respond to standard antibiotics and may be underdiagnosed.
EDGEWOOD, Md. — A parasite once confined to New England is now showing up in places it wasn’t expected. Research reveals that Babesia microti, which causes the tick-borne illness babesiosis, has spread southward into the mid-Atlantic states. The disease destroys red blood cells, often mimics the flu in its early stages, and, unlike Lyme disease, it doesn’t respond to common antibiotics.
As babesiosis cases climb, scientists and public health officials warn that most doctors in these areas may be unprepared to recognize or treat the infection.
“In the 21st century, the tick that carries the babesiosis parasite has expanded its range from New England, and down into Maryland and Virginia,” lead researcher Ellen Stromdahl tells StudyFinds. Stromdahl is a retired entomologist from the Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory, Defense Centers for Public Health-Aberdeen…