EMD Seminar Series: Peter Krause, "Tick-borne disease: The health burden of Lyme disease and babesiosis"

Tick-borne diseases occur throughout the world. Ticks are second only to mosquitos as vectors of human disease and are the most common vectors for disease in wild and domestic animals. Lyme disease, transmitted primarily by the Ixodes scapularis tick, is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. Six other human pathogens are transmitted by this tick, one of which is Babesia microti, the primary etiology of human babesiosis. By most measures, the health burden of Lyme disease is greater than that of babesiosis, however, both the severity of acute illness and the in-patient hospital costs of babesiosis are greater than those of Lyme disease. Lyme disease and babesiosis are worldwide emerging infections with a significant health impact.