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Concern is growing that global warming will have significant impact on the epidemiology of many medical conditions. A simple, retrospective analysis of the seasonality of babesiosis cases at three Massachusetts academic medical centers, by determining the month of symptom onset in 1130 adult patients with confirmed babesiosis over a 31-year period, provides strong evidence that this concern is becoming a reality.
The number of patients with babesiosis increased annually by 14%. Symptom onset predominantly occurred in June and July. However, the number of months when symptoms began increased by a mean of 0.3 months annually. In 1993, patients experienced onset of symptoms in July; in the years 2021 through 2023, patients developed symptoms in…