Babseiosis - A Malaria-Like Disease Spread By Ticks - Spreading Rapidly Through Mid-Atlantic States

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3. Dogs living in these areas are routinely screened for antigen or antibodies against a panel of tick-borne

diseases with a high index of suspicion for even healthy animals. Yet physicians are really not tuned in to these bacterial and parasitic infections carried by ticks in some of the most endemic areas of the country. With climate change the risks increase to the point that one component (Lotilaner) of the newest "all-in-one" tick, flea, heartworm and intestinal parasite monthly meds offered as prevention for dogs (Elanco's Credelio Quattro) is being tested as a oral prevention medication for humans as well (those in tick-infested areas with high work or recreational exposure).

Physicians need continued education on these issues so that they recognize them earlier, but many states allow business-related seminars to meet the mandatory CEU requirements. Add burnout among ER physicians and other physicians, and inadequate recognition of the changing risk from climate change-increasing environmental risks, low recognition of these infections in humans when they are most treatable, is not an uncommon result.