Where Are All The Babesiosis Cases?

In 2014, Maryland reported 9 Babesiosis cases and 147 Malaria cases. Since the 2 organisms are nearly indistinguishable on a blood smear it is of concern that Babesiosis cases are being misdiagnosed as Malaria from the patient's blood smears.

There are a lot of other concerns related to the Maryland DHMH lab and how they collect specimens, hold them, ship them out and then get the CDC labs to process them. Plus, they are referring to the Malaria cases now as “travel acquired”. Come on!!!

I was hoping, since no one has anything else to do (just kidding of course) they may want to contact their local, then their State DHMH (health department) and inquire about this situation. You may be amazed, if it is still like it was several years ago, at how no one seems to be in charge of this situation and how little they all know.

Plus, there are no Babesia duncani cases included in any of the figures, only B. microti. What are they doing with all the positive B. duncani cases they are getting from labs? Or are they even bothering? And how many doctors actually know to look for Babesiosis and or that it is now reportable?

You can see Maryland’s Malaria and Babesiosis cases here.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6332a6.htm?s_cid=mm6332a6_e

And Pennsylvania- 0 Babesiosis and 71 Malaria cases. That just isn’t right. (See above link also.)

Please let me know what you find out! Thanks!

From the CDC

Malaria in the United States

• Malaria was eliminated from the United States in the early 1950's.
• Approximately 1,500–2,000 cases of malaria are reported every year in the United States, almost all in recent travelers. Reported malaria cases reached a 40-year high of 1,925 in 2011.
• First- and second-generation immigrants from malaria-endemic countries returning to their "home" countries to visit friends and relatives tend not to use appropriate malaria prevention measures and thus are more likely to become infected with malaria.
• Between 1957 and 2014, in the United States, 63 outbreaks of locally transmitted mosquito-borne malaria have occurred; in such outbreaks, local mosquitoes become infected by biting persons carrying malaria parasites (acquired in endemic areas) and then transmit malaria to local residents.

Link here- http://www.cdc.gov/malaria/about/facts.html