Babesia is a malarial-like infection that is from the bite of an infected tick.
Babesiosis is extremely prevalent in New England, with 30% to 50% of patients infected.
Babesia Symptoms
Common symptoms include fatigue, overheating and chills, cyclical night and/or day sweats, body aches, headache, brain fog and air hunger. The infection can also cause anemia.
Sometimes, an individual infected with Babesia may only have flu-like symptoms which can resolve without treatment.
Babesia symptoms are more severe in those individuals co-infected with Lyme Disease.
Diagnosing & Treating Babesia
Babesia is diagnosed by blood testing and clinical presentation. Blood testing unfortunately remains unreliable, so the symptoms of the patient and response to treatment is key to accurate diagnosis.
Babesia is treated most commonly with Atovaquone (Mepron) combined with an antibiotic for 2-6 months. Concurrent treatment with botanical medicines is extremely helpful and can occasionally be the only treatment needed.
Supporting the body with nutrition, rest and a graded exercise program is key to successful eradication.