Babesiosis is a tick-borne parasite that causes sever disease and even death. It can cause flu like symptoms and even organ failure. It has become more common in the past few years than it ever has been, and is infecting our blood supply. So far it has been said to be most common in the Northeast and Upper Midwest but has been caught in states as far away from there as Florida and Texas. Premature infants are the most vulnerable to this disease but not the only people who have been diagnosed. They say that there isn't yet a way to detect this disease before blood donations are made.
This is actually pretty scary. My family lives out in the country where ticks are an every day thing in the spring and summer time. It is especially scary since I have a 2 year old son who's immune system isn't fully developed yet. Most of the time this is spread by blood transfusions which makes me a little leery of our country's medical community. In the article that I am blogging about here it says that there is no way to detect this before blood donations, but it doesn't say that there is no way to detect this before blood transfusions. You would think that they would check the blood down to every last cell before expecting it to save someones life. To be transfusing blood with this parasite into premature babies just sickens me and brings me back to WHY DON'T WE CHECK THESE THINGS CLOSER?
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