Babesiasis

/ˌbæbəˈsaɪəsɪs/ noun

Definition

A disease caused by babesia parasites infecting blood cells, characterized by fever, anemia, and potentially organ damage.

Etymology

From Babesia (the parasitic genus) plus -asis (a medical condition or disease). The suffix -asis creates medical terminology for conditions caused by specific pathogens.

Kelly Says

Babesiasis is sometimes called 'the other malaria' because it's transmitted by the same ticks and causes similar symptoms, but it was almost unknown to modern medicine until the late 1900s.

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