Emergence of Babesiosis in Nova Scotia, Canada
AbstractAs part of a multi-year surveillance program of tick-borne diseases, we describe babesia surveillance of blood donors using nucleic acid tests conducted in 2025 and summarize cases of babesiosis reported by public health officials in Nova Scotia, Canada, from 2023 through 2025. Among 10,976 blood donor specimens, one specimen, collected from a blood donor in Nova Scotia Health's Western Zone, was positive, although this result was unable to be confirmed. Since babesiosis became reportable in Nova Scotia on May 23, 2023, eleven clinical cases have been documented, including eight in individuals who resided in the Western Zone and had no recent history of travel.
Authors
- Kathryn E. McIsaac
- Jennifer Cram
- Valerie Conrod
- Carmen L. Charlton (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9129-5136)
- Glenn Patriquin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8674-4358)
- Dilini Kumaran
- Todd F. Hatchette (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5377-2528)
- Sheila F. O’Brien (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5332-2789)
- Molly Trecker
- Chantale Pambrun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4512-7545)
- Lori Osmond
- Mark Bigham
- E. M. Bloch
- Cynthia Cranney
- Mindy Goldman
- Leisa Bruneau
- Steven J. Drews
- Heather Coatsworth
- Sandra Ramirez-Arcos
- Momar Ndao
- Laura Todd
Institutions
- Dalhousie University (CA)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- University of Ottawa (CA)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- Public Health Agency of Canada (CA)
- Johns Hopkins Medicine (US)
- Government of Nova Scotia (CA)
- McGill University Health Centre (CA)
- Nova Scotia Health Authority (CA)
- Canadian Blood Services (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- NEJM Evidence
- Published
- 2026-07-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1056/evidpha2600131
- Primary Topic
- Vector-borne infectious diseases
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00