babesia

noun

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ba·be·sia | \ bə-ˈbē-zh(ē-)ə

plural babesias or babesiae\ bə-ˈbē-zhē-ˌē

Definition of babesia

: any of a genus (Babesia) of sporozoans parasitic in mammalian red blood cells (as in Texas fever) and transmitted by the bite of a tick

— called also piroplasm

Examples of babesia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And while babesia has never been reported in Colorado and only once in the past five years in Montana, it had certainly been seen in other states across the U.S. Babesia microti is a parasite that, like malaria, invades red blood cells to reproduce. — New York Times, 14 Oct. 2021 There were two possibilities: babesia — a tick-borne parasite seen mainly in the Northeast and upper Midwest in the United States — or malaria, a mosquito-borne infection that is common in much of the world but not here in this country. — New York Times, 14 Oct. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'babesia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Babes-Ernst body

babesia

Babesiella

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Cite this Entry

“Babesia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/babesia. Accessed 25 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for babesia

babesia

noun

ba·be·sia | \ bə-ˈbē-zh(ē-)ə

Medical Definition of babesia

1 capitalized : the type genus of the family Babesiidae

2 plural babesias or babesiae\ -zhē-ˌē

\ : any of the sporozoans of the genus Babesia or sometimes the family Babesiidae that are parasitic in mammalian red blood cells (as in Texas fever) and are transmitted by the bite of a tick

— called also piroplasm