Lyme Disease Practice and Research

Babesia and Ehrlichia

	Babesia photo courtesy of the CDC

"Infection with Babesia. Giemsa stained thin smears. Note in A, the tetrad (left side of the image), a dividing form pathognomonic for Babesia. Note also the variation in size and shape of the ring stage parasites (compare A and B), and the absence of pigment. A 6-year-old girl, status post splenectomy for hereditary spherocytosis, infection acquired in the U.S." per CDC

	Ehrlichia photo courtesy of the CDC

Babesia and Ehrlichia were first recognized in the tick and subsequently in individuals with and without Lyme disease. Other organisms have been discovere in the tick including Bartonella.