A Review of Zoonotic Babesiosis as an Emerging Public Health Threat in Asia

• Published in: Pathogens (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 1; p. 23
• Main Authors: Hussain, Sabir, Hussain, Abrar, Aziz, Muhammad Umair, Song, Baolin, Zeb, Jehan, George, David, Li, Jun, Sparagano, Olivier
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 24-12-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Animal populations; Animals; Arachnids; Asia; Babesia; Babesia microti; Babesiosis; Blood transfusions; Case reports; Disease; Domestic animals; Health risks; humans; Infections; Pathogens; Population; Populations; Public health; Review; Reviews; Species; transmission; Wild animals; Zoonoses; zoonosis; Asia; North America; Europe; China; transmission; animals; babesiosis; Asia; humans; zoonosis
• ISSN: 2076-0817; 2076-0817
• DOI: 10.3390/pathogens11010023

Zoonotic babesiosis poses a serious health risk in many parts of the world. Its emergence in Asia is thus a cause for significant concern, demanding that appropriate control measures are implemented to suppress its spread in this region. This study focuses on zoonotic
species reported in Asia, offering an extensive review of those species reported in animals and humans. We reported 11 studies finding zoonotic
species in animals and 16 in humans. In China, the most prevalent species was found to be
, reported in both humans (n = 10) and wild and domesticated animals (n = 4). In Korea, only two studies reported human babesiosis, with a further two studies reporting
in wild animals.
was also reported in wild animal populations in Thailand and Japan, with evidence of human case reports also found in Singapore, Mongolia and India. This is the first review to report zoonotic babesiosis in humans and animals in Asia, highlighting concerns for future public health in this region. Further investigations of zoonotic species of
in animal populations are required to confirm the actual zoonotic threat of babesiosis in Asia, as well as its possible transmission routes.