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Warning after death from tick-borne illness
BY: ADAM CRESSWELL From: The Australian March 19, 2012 12:00AM
RESEARCHERS are urging doctors to watch out for signs of a potentially fatal tick-borne illness after the first recorded Australian case of the disease resulted in the multi-organ failure and death of a 56-year-old man.
The illness, called babesiosis, is said to be fatal in 5 to 10 per cent of severe cases.
It appears the victim, from the NSW south coast, had been harbouring the parasite responsible for several months before it was detected towards the end of a four-month hospital stay.
Doctors who investigated the case say while babesiosis is known to occur in cattle and dogs in Australia, the emergence of the first Australian-acquired human case suggests health workers should familiarise themselves with the symptoms of the disease.
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BY: ADAM CRESSWELL From: The Australian March 19, 2012 12:00AM
RESEARCHERS are urging doctors to watch out for signs of a potentially fatal tick-borne illness after the first recorded Australian case of the disease resulted in the multi-organ failure and death of a 56-year-old man.
The illness, called babesiosis, is said to be fatal in 5 to 10 per cent of severe cases.
It appears the victim, from the NSW south coast, had been harbouring the parasite responsible for several months before it was detected towards the end of a four-month hospital stay.
Doctors who investigated the case say while babesiosis is known to occur in cattle and dogs in Australia, the emergence of the first Australian-acquired human case suggests health workers should familiarise themselves with the symptoms of the disease.
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