This year's warm winter formed a figurative breeding ground for a rare tick-borne disease called 'babesiosis.' Learn how it spreads and what to do to protect yourself this spring.
Babesiosis does remain pretty rare. States reported around 1,800 cases a year between 2011 and 2019 — a fraction of the 30,000 Lyme disease reports the CDC says it receives annually.
While some babesiosis cases are asymptomatic, about 80% of infections lead to symptoms like fever, chills and muscle pain, according to Edouard Vannier, a babesiosis expert at Tufts Medical Center. Extreme cases can be life-threatening, particularly for those who are immunocompromised or elderly. Why is it on the rise? Vannier told WBUR’s Irina Matchavariani there’s multiple factors. But like Lyme disease, Vannier says the spread is accelerated by warmer temperatures. “So, there is possibly an impact of climate change on this spread northward,” he told Matchavariani.
What’s next: Vannier says there have already been babesiosis cases as far north as the Canadian border and “we can expect reasonably” that cases will only continue to rise in the coming years.Get ready for another Massachusetts springtime staple: construction. Starting tonight through October, state officials will implement overnight “rolling roadblocks” and lane closures on the stretch of the Mass. Pike behind Fenway Park in both directions.
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