Babesiosis: Treatment, Procedure, Cost and Side Effects
Last Updated: Oct 31, 2019
What is Babesiosis ?
Babesiosis is a disease caused due to an infection associated with malaria like parasite babesia. This kind of disease might often lead you to have lyme diseases which can affect both humans and animals. The symptoms of this disease are common to that of malaria and when your blood is contaminated with the associated parasite you may experience fatigue, high and sporadic fevers, muscle and joint pain, abnormal weight loss and even abdominal pain. In more severe cases of this disease, you might face organ failure, various respiratory diseases and even distress syndromes. You are likely to be prone to this disease when you are also associated with immunodeficiency syndromes, HIV/AIDS. This disease can also affect cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, goats and even dogs. This parasite is commonly carried by the ticks of white tailed deer from where it spreads on. Besides a tick bite, this type of disease can also be spread by blood transmission of an infected pregnant woman to her fetus. People who have no spleen or do not have a strong immune system, have a greater chance of being affected by this disease. You should be cautious about the tick bites in the future and wear clothes that reduce the exposure of your skin from these bites.
How is the treatment done?
Antibiotics are used in the treatment procedure of this disease but antibiotics alone are not enough. Some antiparasitic drugs are used to cure this disease. The parasitic medicines helps to fight the antibodies that are present in your blood and helps to kill the harmful parasites in your body and edges out the symptoms that you face in this disease. The severity of the case is important for the treatment procedure as it decides the amount of medicinal drugs that you require and over dosage would not help to cure the disease. If you are diagnosed with this disease once then there might be a chance that you might be refrained from donating blood. Those who have a severe condition of this disease then they might need to obtain special treatment such as blood transfusions, dialysis, mechanical ventilations and exchange transfusions. Exchange transfusion is a process where the blood of the infected person are replaced with transfused blood to enable better results and ease the problems that you might face. Your medical expert might also look into your liver enzyme levels, levels of urea, nitrogen and creatinine in your body as these levels are also essential to determine the course of treatment that you might require. Consult with your medical expert to obtain the best possible treatment for your case as the treatment procedure depends upon the severity of the case.
Who is eligible for the treatment?
If you are facing symptoms that are similar to that of malaria such as fatigue, sporadic fevers, muscle and abdominal pain then you should get tested. If you are diagnosed with babesiosis then you are eligible for the treatment.
Who is not eligible for the treatment?
As the symptoms for this condition are similar to that of the condition of malaria, you should get tested as if you have malaria then the course of treatment would be different.
Are there any side effects?
The rich antibiotics might cause you to have weakness, fatigue and lethargic. If you are facing any form of allergies from the treatment that you are obtaining then consult your medical expert as soon as possible.
What are the post-treatment guidelines?
You should avoid the areas of meadows where the infected ticks might be available. You should also spray your body so that the ticks do not bite you in the exposed areas of your body. Wear long trousers and full sleeved shirts and also tuck the bottom part of your pant into the socks to avoid the ticks from biting you. If the symptoms arrive again then call up your medical expert immediately
How long does it take to recover?
You will be able to see the improvement in your condition within three days after you start with the treatment and you should be fully fit within a week to ten days.
What is the price of the treatment in India?
The medicines antibiotics along with the blood tests cost around Rs. 800 to Rs. 5,000.
Are the results of the treatment permanent?
The results of the treatment would be permanent if you can avoid exposure of the ticks which can harm you if they bite you. The results are permanent only if you take necessary measures to avoid contamination. If the symptoms start to come back again then consult your medical expert as soon as possible.
References
- Parasites - Babesiosis- CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [Internet]. cdc.gov 2018 [Cited 17 July 2019]. Available from:
- Babesiosis- MSD Manual Consumer Version [Internet]. msdmanuals.com 2018 [Cited 17 July 2019]. Available from:
- Tickborne Diseases of the United States- CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [Internet]. cdc.gov 2019 [Cited 17 July 2019]. Available from:
Table of content
15+ Years of Surgical Experience
All Insurances Accepted
EMI Facility Available at 0% Rate
Find General Physician near me
Ask a free question
Get FREE multiple opinions from Doctors