Transcript Document

Case presentation
Case 16
Reporter: I2 林士傑
Date: 94/11/28
Chief complaint, present illness, &
personal/past/family history


A 17-year-old girl who had never traveled outside the
United States, had recently spent the summer
working as a waitress in Nantucket,Mass.On her
return to her home in Washington, D.C., she
developed a headache, fatigue, fever, shaking
chills, joint and muscle aches, and other vague flulike symptoms, which persisted for a month.
She had been previously healthy,al-though she had
had a splenectomy due to injuries suffered in a ski
accident.
Physical examination

headache,fatigue,fever,shaking chills
joint and muscle aches, and other vague
flu-like symptoms
Laboratory tests

Blood count, and thick and thin blood smears.
The thin smears, stained with Giemsa stain,
→intraerythrocytic,pleomorphic, ringlike and
crucifix-shaped structures, found peripherally
in the pale red blood cells.
Fig.16.1
Babesiosis (巴貝氏原蟲病)
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Intraerythrocytic protozoan →malarialike illness
ETIOLOGY
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Babesia, B. microti &B. divergens are the
most that cause human infections.
 Hosts→rodents,birds
 Reservoir→Ticks
 Vectors →Ixodid (hard-bodied) ticks
Ixodes scapularis (I. dammini)
I. ricinus,.
EPIDEMIOLOGY
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Ticks is prevalent:
Nantucket Island of Massachusetts
Block Island in Rhode Island
Long Island,Shelter Island, Fire Island in New
York
focal areas in Connecticut, Wisconsin, Minnesota
Between May~August
In Nantucket →60% of deer mice are infected
with B.
microti.
CLINICAL PRESENTATION

Varies widely and resembles malaria or
rickettsiosis
 Gradual onset of irregular fever, chills, sweating,
muscle pain, and fatigue.
 Mild hepatosplenomegaly and mild hemolytic
anemia progressing to jaundice, hemoglobinemia,
and renal failure.
 The level of parasitemia may range from 1 to 50%.
DIAGNOSIS
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History:tick bites, febrile persons living in
endemic areas
 Laboratory exam
Laboratory Findings
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Hemolytic anemia, normal to low leukocyte counts,
abnormal liver function.
Giemsa-stained blood smears :Ring forms &
pleomorphic intraerythrocytic organisms on
Unlike malaria, Babesia organisms do not produce
pigment in RBC
the absence of gametocytes and intracellular
pigmentation help distinguish babesiosis from malaria.
Indirect immunofluorescenceantibody test
Giemsa-stain

For differentiate nuclear and/or cytoplasmic morphology
of platelets, RBCs, WBCs, and parasites.
 In Wright- and Giemsa-stain:
 the cytoplasm appears blue.
 the nucleus is relatively large, eccentrically located, and
red.
 the distinct, rod-shaped, red-staining kinetoplast (a
specialized mitochondrial structure) contains extranuclear
DNA arranged as catenated minicircles and maxicircles
TREATMENT
Intact spleen→self-limiting although symptoms may
persist for months .
 Clindamycin(1.2 g Bid IV or 600 mg Tid po for 7~10 days)
Quinine(650mgTid po for 7 days)
 Atovaquone(750mg po Bid for 7~10 days)
Azithromycin(600 mg po Qd for 7~10 days)
 Severe infections (parasitemia/asplenic)→in addition to
exchange transfusions
 Occasionally, pulmonary edema may develop after
initiation of therapy.

Question 1

What is the probable diagnosis of this
patient's infection? Name the protozoan
blood parasite which is most likely to be
responsible for this infection.
Answer 1
Dx→Babesiosis
 Protozoan → B. microti & B. divergens are
the two that cause most human infections

Question 2

What are the ringlike and crucifix-shaped
structures seen in the peripheral
blood smear? Which aspect of the patient's
history led to your conclusion about
her diagnosis? Do you think that her history
of having a splenectomy would have
any relationship to her illness?
Answer 2

Ringlike&crucifix-shaped structures→merozoite
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Hints:
1.She had recently spent the summer working
as a waitress in Nantucket,Mass.
2.She had had a splenectomy due to injuries
suffered in a ski accident.
Question 3

Why is this infection common only in certain
geographical areas?
Answer 3
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Ticks is prevalent:
Nantucket Island of Massachusetts
Block Island in Rhode Island
Long Island,Shelter Island, Fire Island in New York
focal areas in Connecticut, Wisconsin, Minnesota
Between May~August
In Nantucket →60% of deer mice are infected with B.
microti.
Question 4

Which other infections are transmitted by the
same vector?
Answer 4
Vector→Ticks (壁蝨)
 The tick of may simultaneously transmit
1.Borrelia burgdorferithe→Lyme disease
2.Ehrlichia (Anaplasma) species→ehrlichiosis
(Rickettsia, Ehrlichia)
=>Those coinfections may make clinical illness
more severe and warrant special therapy.

Question 5

Describe the life cycle of this parasite.
Answer 5
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Ticks ingest Babesia while feeding, and
the parasite multiplies within the tick's gut
wall. The organisms then spread to the
salivary glands; their inoculation into a
vertebrate host by a tick larva, nymph, or
adult completes the cycle of transmission.
Asexual reproduction of Babesia within
RBCs1 produces two or four parasites
Question 6

In which other manner may this infection be
transmitted?
Answer 6
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Blood transfusion
 Acquired perinatally
Question 7

How do infections with this parasite in other
geographical areas differ from the case
described here?
Answer 7
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The causative agent of babesiosis varies according
to geographical region.
Geographical
region
Protozoan
Vector
Northeastern
United States
California
Washington
Babesia microti
Babesia gibsoni
Ixodes tick
(transmits Lyme
disease)
unidentified
Europe
Babesia
divergens
Ixodes tick
Question 8
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How may this infection be treated?
Answer 8
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Intact spleen→self-limiting although symptoms may
persist for months .
Clindamycin(1.2 g Bid IV or 600 mg Tid po for 7~10 days)
Quinine(650mgTid po for 7 days)
Atovaquone(750mg po Bid for 7~10 days)
Azithromycin(600 mg po Qd for 7~10 days)
Severe infections (parasitemia/asplenic)→in addition to
exchange transfusions
Occasionally, pulmonary edema may develop after
initiation of therapy.
References

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine - 16th
Ed. (2005)
 Infectious disease the clinican’s guide to diagnosis
treatment and prevention 2005