Diagnostics , Featured , Fundamental , Treatment ,

An Introduction to Human Babesiosis

0.25 CME. This course teaches how to diagnose and treat infections caused by babesia, a malaria-like protozoan parasite that can be transmitted through tick bites, blood transfusions, and organ transplants, or congenitally from mother to fetus. The course also discusses the global distribution of babesia and a new species of babesia, B. odocoilei, which may be causing unrecognized disease.

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Elizabeth L. Maloney, MD

Instructor

Elizabeth L. Maloney, MD
Education Co-director, Invisible International

Description

This course teaches how to diagnose and treat infections caused by babesia, a malaria-like protozoan parasite that can be transmitted through tick bites, blood transfusions, and organ transplants, or congenitally from mother to fetus. The course also discusses the global distribution of babesia and a new species of babesia, B. odocoilei, which may be causing unrecognized disease.

Learning objectives

Describe the epidemiology of Babesiosis in the US
Identify the signs and symptoms of Babesiosis
Discuss the types and limitations of diagnostic testing
Discuss treatment approaches for Babesiosis

This session, An Introduction to Human Babesiosis, is approved for 0.25 enduring AAFP Prescribed credits.

AAFP Prescribed credit is accepted by the American Medical Association as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™ toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. When applying for the AMA PRA, Prescribed credit earned must be reported as Prescribed, not as Category 1.

The AAFP has reviewed One Health Medical Education for a Changing Climate and deemed it acceptable for AAFP credit. Term of approval is from 01/02/2024 to 01/01/2025. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

References

Swanson M, Pickrel A, Williamson J, Montgomery S. Trends in Reported Babesiosis Cases – United States, 2011-2019. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2023 Mar 17;72(11):273-277. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7211a1. PMID: 36928071; PMCID: PMC10027409.

Gray EB, Herwaldt BL. Babesiosis Surveillance – United States, 2011-2015. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2019 May 31;68(6):1-11. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss6806a1. PMID: 31145719.

Bloch EM, Day JR, Krause PJ, Kjemtrup A, O’Brien SF, Tobian AAR, Goel R. Epidemiology of Hospitalized Patients with Babesiosis, United States, 2010-2016. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022 Feb;28(2):354–62. doi: 10.3201/eid2802.210213. PMID: 35076004; PMCID: PMC8798708.

Vannier EG, Diuk-Wasser MA, Ben Mamoun C, Krause PJ. Babesiosis. Infect Dis Clin North Am. 2015 Jun;29(2):357-70. doi: 10.1016/j.idc.2015.02.008. PMID: 25999229; PMCID: PMC4458703.

Nassar Y, Richter S. Babesiosis Presenting as Acute Liver Failure. Case Rep Gastroenterol. 2017 Dec 18;11(3):769-773. doi: 10.1159/000485373. PMID: 29430231; PMCID: PMC5803690.

Ortiz JF, Millhouse PW, Morillo Cox Á, Campoverde L, Kaur A, Wirth M, Atoot A. Babesiosis: Appreciating the Pathophysiology and Diverse Sequela of the Infection. Cureus. 2020 Oct 21;12(10):e11085. doi: 10.7759/cureus.11085. PMID: 33224678; PMCID: PMC7678756.

Course Content

Video

Quiz (3 questions)

Course evaluation

About Instructor

Elizabeth L. Maloney, MD

Dr. Elizabeth Maloney is a Minnesota family physician. She received her medical degree from the University of Minnesota in 1986 and completed her residency in family medicine at the University in 1989. Early in her career, she practiced in Guam, where lab and other testing modalities were often unavailable. It was here that she honed her clinical skills and learned to translate history and exam findings into clinical diagnoses and treatment plans. Dr. Maloney began reviewing the scientific literature on tick-borne diseases in earnest in 2006. Her initial review was an attempt to understand why some patients did not present or respond as described in review articles and conference lectures. When she discovered that Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, is a complex organism, the immune response to it is nuanced and there are gaps in the clinical understanding of Lyme disease, Dr. Maloney changed her focus towards educating medical professionals about tick-borne illnesses. Dr. Maloney began providing accredited continuing medical education courses on Lyme disease for physicians in 2007 and continues to do so. She has also developed similar education for nurses and mental health providers. She has published several papers in peer-reviewed medical journals and is frequently invited to speak to medical professionals across the US. She has served as a consultant to private organizations and government agencies in the US and Canada. In February 2018 she was selected to serve on the Pathogenesis, Transmission and Treatment subcommittee of the federally mandated Tick-borne Disease Working Group. Additionally, she recently accepted an invitation to serve on a peer review committee for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

12 Courses

An Introduction to Human Babesiosis

Course Content

About Instructor

Elizabeth L. Maloney, MD

Course Includes