Ticks carry all kinds of bad stuff that could pose a risk to our health. There is now one more on that list in Maryland.

It’s called babesia and it causes something potentially terrible called babesiosis. That’s buh-bee-zee-oh-sis, if you’re seeing that for the first time — and pretty sure you are.

For years, there had only been a really small number of infections, so most doctors likely haven’t even seen a case. Recently, however, researchers found there is a growing number of these microscopic parasites in ticks in the mid-Atlantic area.

And Baltimore “is a hotspot,” said Ellen Stromdahl, a retired tick researcher from the Defense Centers for Public Health at U.S. Army Aberdeen Proving Ground who helped lead a study published last year in the Journal of Entomology.

The term hotspot is relative. The Maryland Department of Health identified only 29 infections in 2023 around the whole state, and some likely weren’t infected here. State officials said they don’t yet have 2024 numbers.

By comparison, in 2023, there were 2,463 cases of Lyme disease, also tick-borne.

“There are not many cases, but we think it’s the tip of the iceberg and we want to give an early warning,” she said.

And that’s the issue. Ticks are an increasing risk to people. And finding a new parasite once largely only found in northern states is troublesome to experts.

That includes Dr. David Sullivan, a professor of molecular microbiology and immunology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

“It’s an indication that Lyme is going up if we’re finding babesia. It’s a proxy indicator for Lyme and for other diseases,” he said. “I’m more worried about ticks in Maryland than mosquitoes.”

The parasites causing babesiosis are spread by blacklegged, or deer, ticks. They infiltrate red blood cells and can lead to a dangerous, or rarely, even deadly level of anemia, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The good news is a lot of people never know they have it. No symptoms and no repercussions.

The bad news is that doctors may mistake the symptoms in people who do get sick for the flu or another malady that causes fever, body aches and fatigue. Misdiagnosis could mean a physician might not treat it properly.

Those at risk of a bad outcome are elderly and immunocompromised, experts say. Treatment to avoid more serious problems includes a combination of antiparasitic medications and antibiotics. It could also require a blood transfusion in more severe cases.

Another hitch is that people can get infected at the same time with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Doctors may diagnose Lyme and prescribe antibiotics only, which will not knock out the parasites.

Stromdahl and other researchers, including some from the Maryland Department of Health, set out on a two-year quest to collect and test ticks in the area after routine testing in her military lab years ago found the parasite.

They wanted to know if the parasite endemic in New England and other northern states and the Upper Midwest had found their way south.

They are now in Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and West Virginia. In Maryland, they are most often found on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, as well as the Baltimore region.

Stromdahl wants to get the word out that the tick mix here now includes babesiosis, and doctors ought to order blood tests for those with symptoms and a tick bite. “It could save their lives,” she said.

Sullivan noted that the threat remains low for now. Marylanders may still have a better chance of being struck by lightning than getting sick with babesiosis.

Of the ticks tested in Maryland in the study, less than 3% had the parasites for babesiosis, compared to about 20% to 30% with the bacteria for Lyme. Only one of six species, the deer tick, is responsible for the diseases.

Also, an infection typically requires the tick to be attached for about 24 to 36 hours for transmission, and most people’s healthy immune systems clear it from the body.

The bottom line: If you see a tick and remove it within a day, you’re probably good, said Sullivan, and that goes for adult and baby ticks this time of year.

A note about those ticks

The CDC advises that if you do find a tick, carefully pluck it off with tweezers and douse it with alcohol to kill it and place it in a sealed bag. You may be eligible for a preemptive Lyme treatment.

And also, this time of year it’s a good idea to use tick repellent and clothes that cover you up when you’re in tick-prone areas outside.