Babesia & Bartonella Species DNA in Blood & Enrichment Blood Cultures from...Chronic Fatigue & Concurrent Neurological Symptoms, 2025, Breitschwerdt

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https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/15/1/2

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0817/15/1/2

Open Access Article

Babesia and Bartonella Species DNA in Blood and Enrichment Blood Cultures from People with Chronic Fatigue and Concurrent Neurological Symptoms
by
Edward B. Breitschwerdt
*<i></i>,
Ricardo G. Maggi
<i></i>,
Janice C. Bush
<i></i> and
Emily Kingston
<i></i>



Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Comparative Medicine Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27607, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Pathogens 2026, 15(1), 2; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens15010002
Submission received: 12 November 2025 / Revised: 11 December 2025 / Accepted: 17 December 2025 / Published: 19 December 2025

Abstract​

Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a medical condition characterized by extreme fatigue lasting at least 6 months.

Based upon case reports, patients infected with Babesia or Bartonella spp. have reported a history of chronic fatigue and concurrent neurological symptoms.

In this study, 50 study participants reporting fatigue lasting from six months to 19 years and one or more neurological symptoms were selected. PCR assays were used to amplify Babesia and Bartonella spp.

DNA from blood and enrichment blood cultures.

Using targeted qPCR amplification and DNA sequencing, infection with Babesia spp., Bartonella spp. or both genera was confirmed in 10, 11, and 2 individuals, respectively.

Of 50 participants, 12 (24%, 95% CI: 12–36%) were infected with a Babesia species, while Bartonella species infection was documented in 13/50 individuals (26%, 95% CI: 13.8–38.2%).

This study provides documentation supporting a potential role for Babesia and Bartonella infection in patients with presentations consistent with ME/CFS.

Prospective case–control studies, using highly sensitive direct pathogen detection techniques, are needed to determine whether or the extent to which infection with members of these two genera contributes to or causes ME/CFS.

Keywords:
Bartonella; Babesia; flea; tick; vector; infection; PCR; enrichment culture

 

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Study Population​

Participants were selected from a cohort of 173 individuals who were previously tested for Bartonellaspp. infection as a component of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved study entitled: Detection of Bartonella Species in the Blood of People with Extensive Animal Contact (North Carolina State University Institutional Review Board, IRB# 1960).

Due to chronic illnesses of varying severity and duration, all participants or their physician had contacted the corresponding author requesting study entry.

Individuals were included if they met two criteria: (1) based upon study questionnaire responses, they had experienced fatigue or chronic fatigue for a duration of at least six months and (2) they had reported (questionnaire checklist) one or more neurological symptoms, specifically including the following: difficulty remembering, disorientation, irritability, rage, aggression, difficulty sleeping, seizures, tremors, headache, mental confusion, hallucinations, and anxiety/panic attacks.

So this is a CF study, not ME/CFS.

And there is selection bias because the patients were recruited from patients that already wanted to be tested due to extensive animal contact, so there is no basis for using this as prevalence estimates, which is what they claim is the rationale for the study:

The rationale for this cohort study was to determine the frequency of infection with Babesia spp., Bartonellaspp. or both genera in sick individuals reporting fatigue for at least six months’ duration.