Week of July 11th

 This week I spent most of my time diving deep into babesiosis, a tick-borne disease that’s becoming more common in the Northeast. While I’d heard of Lyme disease before, babesiosis was new to me, and researching it really opened my eyes to how complex and underrecognized it is.

My assignment focused on studying how babesiosis is transmitted, its symptoms, and how it’s tracked and reported by public health departments. I was especially interested in how it differs from other tick-borne illnesses, since it’s caused by a parasite rather than a bacterium. It infects red blood cells, kind of like malaria, which makes it even more interesting from a biology standpoint. I also looked at how co-infections with Lyme or anaplasmosis can complicate diagnosis and treatment.

One of the challenges was narrowing down the information. There’s a lot of ongoing research into babesiosis, especially since it's now a reportable disease in several states. But I wanted to focus on the public health aspect and how it affected pregnant women and the vertical transmission of the disease.  

Putting the poster together helped me see how all the pieces of the research fit into a bigger picture. It wasn’t just about the parasite itself, but about ecology, healthcare, and communication. It was a rewarding project that gave me a better appreciation for how scientists and health officials work together to monitor and respond to emerging infectious diseases! 

I inserted a permalink for anyone to see the poster!