A Cluster of Transfusion-Associated Babesiosis Cases Traced to a Single Asymptomatic Donor

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Abstract
Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease of animals that occasionally occurs in humans. In the United States, most cases of babesiosis occur in the Northeast and are caused by the rodent parasite Babesia microti, an intraerythrocytic protozoan transmitted by the northern deer tick, Ixodes dammini.1 Babesiosis is prevalent in the coastal areas and islands of New England and New York. More recently, cases of babesiosis caused by various Babesia species have been reported from California, Washington, Missouri, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.2 Evidence suggests that because most B microti infections are asymptomatic or are not diagnosed for other reasons, Babesia infection is more common than the several hundred reported tick-borne cases would suggest.3 The clinical manifestations of babesiosis vary from asymptomatic infection to severe and sometimes fatal disease characterized by fever, hemolytic anemia, hemoglobinuria, and renal failure.2 Asplenic individuals and patients with underlying immunodeficiency, eg, elderly patients or patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, are particularly susceptible to severe manifestations.4,5