Use of tafenoquine to treat a patient with relapsing babesiosis with clinical and molecular evidence of resistance to azithromycin and atovaquone

Luis A Marcos; Annie Leung; Laura Kirkman; Gary P Wormser

doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2022.e01460

Use of tafenoquine to treat a patient with relapsing babesiosis with clinical and molecular evidence of resistance to azithromycin and atovaquone

IDCases. 2022 Feb 25:27:e01460. doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2022.e01460. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Luis A Marcos¹, Annie Leung², Laura Kirkman², Gary P Wormser³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine (Division of Infectious Diseases) and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Stony Brook University, USA.
² Department of Medicine (Division of Infectious Diseases) and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
³ Division of Infectious Diseases, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, USA.

Abstract

Tafenoquine is a highly effective treatment for Babesia microti infections in animal models. An immunocompromised patient infected by a strain of B. microti that was at least partially resistant to both azithromycin and atovaquone was treated with tafenoquine. Systematic clinical studies using tafenoquine for treating other patients with babesiosis should be considered.

Keywords: Antibiotic resistance; Babesia microti; Babesiosis; Rituximab; Tafenoquine.

Publication types

Case Reports