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- Title
Technologies for Detection of Babesia microti : Advances and Challenges.
- Authors
Meredith, Scott; Oakley, Miranda; Kumar, Sanjai
- Abstract
The biology of intraerythrocytic Babesia parasites presents unique challenges for the diagnosis of human babesiosis. Antibody-based assays are highly sensitive but fail to detect early stage Babesia infections prior to seroconversion (window period) and cannot distinguish between an active infection and a previously resolved infection. On the other hand, nucleic acid-based tests (NAT) may lack the sensitivity to detect window cases when parasite burden is below detection limits and asymptomatic low-grade infections. Recent technological advances have improved the sensitivity, specificity and high throughput of NAT and the antibody-based detection of Babesia. Some of these advances include genomics approaches for the identification of novel high-copy-number targets for NAT and immunodominant antigens for superior antigen and antibody-based assays for Babesia. Future advances would also rely on next generation sequencing and CRISPR technology to improve Babesia detection. This review article will discuss the historical perspective and current status of technologies for the detection of Babesia microti, the most common Babesia species causing human babesiosis in the United States, and their implications for early diagnosis of acute babesiosis, blood safety and surveillance studies to monitor areas of expansion and emergence and spread of Babesia species and their genetic variants in the United States and globally.
- Subjects
UNITED States; BABESIA; GENETIC variation; DETECTION limit; BABESIOSIS; CRISPRS
- Publication
Pathogens, 2021, Vol 10, Issue 12, p1563
- ISSN
2076-0817
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.3390/pathogens10121563