Aug

22

2021

Babesia

By William Aird

Peripheral smear from a 62-year-old woman with babesiosis shows a red blood cell with ab intracellular ring form (arrow). There are a number of burr cells in the field (100x, oil).

Peripheral smear from a 62-year-old woman with babesiosis shows 3 red blood cells with intracellular ring forms (arrows) (100x, oil).

Peripheral smear from a 62-year-old woman with babesiosis shows 3 red blood cells with intracellular ring forms (arrows) (100x, oil).
ParameterProperties
Red blood cell, inclusionBabesia
DefinitionRing forms (trophozoites), the most common inclusion bodies in Babesiosis, are characterized by non-staining vacuole surrounded by cytoplasm (in blue) and a small nucleus (in purple).
Mechanism of formationBabesia microti, an intraerythrocytic protozoan, is the main etiologic agent of human babesiosis.
HistoryFirst described by Viktor Babes in 1888 when he investigated the cause of hemoglobinuria in febrile cattle; first human case reported in 1957.
Source/authorWilliam Aird
Reviewed and edited byParul Bhargava
ReferencesInfect Dis Clin North Am. 2015;29:357

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