Micheline LeBlanc knew something was up in the summer of 2022. She felt achy and fatigued. 鈥淗eadaches were a big problem. Night sweats were dramatic,鈥� LeBlanc says.
When she developed throbbing pain in her legs and shortness of breath, her husband took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with Lyme disease.
They sent her home with antibiotics. But a few days later her doctor called to tell her a blood test showed she actually had a different tick-borne illness 鈥� babesiosis.
The first case of babesiosis in the U.S. was identified on Nantucket Island in 1969. The tick-borne parasitic disease is endemic in New England, and as expand their range it鈥檚 now found from Virginia to Maine as well as the upper Midwest, from Michigan to Minnesota. The CDC points to a over the last decade.
Babesiosis can be treated with drugs, , azithromycin combined with atovaquone, which are both prescription medications. But, sometimes, this isn鈥檛 enough to kill off the parasite, and there鈥檚 a risk of relapse.
Now, a randomized, controlled clinical trial, slated to begin this month, to test whether the anti-malaria drug in combination with the other drugs already used, can speed up recovery and clear the parasite from patients鈥� bodies faster.
Most younger people who get infected after a tick bite have only mild illness. 鈥淎 fever that can take a couple of days to a week or two to go away,鈥� says , an infectious disease doctor at Tufts University. Some people have no symptoms. But some people over 50 as well as those with compromised immune systems can become very ill and end up in the hospital.
That鈥檚 what happened to LeBlanc, 鈥淚t was a roller coaster ride,鈥� she says.
LeBlanc lives in New Hampshire, where ticks are common. She would feel better for a few weeks, but then her symptoms would return. She had headaches and fatigue. LeBlanc had her spleen removed in her 20s after an infection and her immune system was compromised from a prior illness which put her at high risk.
鈥淭hese patients can have many relapses, lasting months or sometimes even years,鈥� explains , an infectious disease physician and babesiosis expert at the Yale School of Public health. And a small percentage die.
A published last month provides some initial evidence that tafenoquine is beneficial for these patients. The study included five people including LeBlanc, 72.
When doctors added tafenoquine to these patients' regimen, they got better.
鈥淚t worked,鈥� Dr. Krause says. 鈥淭hey no longer had symptoms and they no longer had the organism in their blood.鈥�
When LeBlanc went to the hospital for testing after taking the drug, the doctors began to document a significant decline in the parasite within a few weeks. 鈥淚t went down and down, and then it was not even found in my system,鈥� she says. And she started to feel much better, 鈥淚 was elated,鈥� LeBlanc says.
Now she's back doing all the things she couldn鈥檛 do while she was sick, such as dancing and volunteering. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just great,鈥� LeBlanc says.
Researchers plan to enroll hospitalized patients this summer who are admitted with babesiosis, explains of Tufts Medical Center, one of the trial sites. 鈥淣ow the tick season has started we are going to see patients coming to the hospital,鈥� Vannier says.
He says they will not include patients with mild disease because the existing drug regimen of azithromycin combined with atovaquone already does a good job. He says enrollment should be 鈥渦p and running very shortly.鈥�
Currently tafenoquine is approved by the FDA for . For now, doctors are using the drug 鈥榦ff-label鈥� in babesiosis patients, but the ongoing research could pave the way for FDA expanded approval of the drug for the tick-borne disease. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our goal,鈥� says CEO of 60 Degrees Pharma.
Given the rise of babesiosis, there鈥檚 also more testing for the disease. It can be diagnosed with a blood test. The FDA recommends blood donation screening for the parasite that causes babesiosis in 15 states.
LeBlanc says she鈥檚 now very careful now to avoid tick bites. by walking on trails, using repellent, wearing long-sleeve pants and shirts when outdoors, especially in wooded areas and showering soon after being outdoors. And be especially careful in spring, summer and fall when ticks are most active.
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This story was edited by Jane Greenhalgh
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