Ticked about tick story
Dear Editor:
RE: Province reports over 10,000 cases of Lyme disease since 2021, June 25.
In the article on tick-borne zoonotic diseases that appeared in the Advertiser last week, the word “babesiosis” is vague and meaningless.
There is a marked difference between human babesiosis caused by Babesia odocoilei and human babesiosis caused by Babesia microti. They are both tick-borne zoonotic diseases; however, the latter is relatively easy to treat, whereas the former is recalcitrant and very persistent to treat.
During a Canada-wide tick study, researchers found the ratio of Babesia odocoilei to Babesia microti to be 60:1 in blacklegged ticks. This distinct difference was not taken into account in the article.
Chronic Babesia odocoilei causes dementia and cognitive impairment. Clinicians often label Babesia odocoilei as Alzheimer’s disease, MS, POTS, chronic fatigue syndrome and more.
The difference between these two Babesia species resembles the difference between apples and oranges. Both are fruits, but each have distinctly different characteristics.
In order to have meaningful statistics on human babesiosis, Babesia odocoilei and Babesia microti must be tabulated separately. Unfortunately, the article fails to take into account the difference between these two Babesia species.
Tick testing is required, as well as blood work to differentiate between these two Babesia species, so that treatment protocols are correct.
John Scott,
Fergus