Babesiosis

Babesiosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease caused by infection with Babesia, a genus of Apicomplexa. Human babesiosis is an uncommon but emerging disease in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and parts of Europe, and sporadic throughout the rest of the world. It occurs in warm months. Ticks transmit the human strain of babesiosis, so it often presents with other tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease. After trypanosomes, Babesia is thought to be the second-most common blood parasite of mammals, and they can have a major impact on health of domestic animals in areas without severe winters. In cattle, a major host, the disease is known as Texas cattle fever, redwater, or piroplasmosis.