Double Threat: Babesiosis and Lyme Disease Co-infection Rates Climb

Experts recommend that people living in places where ticks are endemic do thorough skin examinations.

James Gathany/CDC/Public Domain

From 2015 to 2022, rates of babesiosis, a tick-borne parasitic disease sometimes dubbed “American malaria,” have increased an average of 9 percent per year in the United States, with four in 10 patients co-infected with another tick-borne illness such as Lyme disease, according to a new study by researchers at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center.

Researchers examined data from more than 3,500 infected individuals, revealing not only a significant rise in cases during the summer months but also a concerning trend of co-infections that could complicate treatment.

‘American Malaria’

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) show cases rising to 50,856 in 2019 from 40,795 reported in 2011.