A 15-year-old boy spent most of the summer at the northern Minnesota family cabin on a lake in a densely wooded area. After returning to school in the fall, he was frequently tired and listless with periods of fever and chills. A blood sample revealed the following organism at 1000$\times$. The most likely identification is

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The symptoms and the presence of the organism in the blood sample suggest a tick-borne illness. Plasmodium species are not transmitted by ticks, while Trypanosoma cruzi is not found in northern Minnesota. Babesia microti, on the other hand, is a tick-borne parasite commonly found in wooded areas of the northeastern and upper midwestern United States, including northern Minnesota. It causes a disease called babesiosis, which can result in fever, chills, and fatigue. The organism in the blood sample is consistent with Babesia microti. Plasmodium malariae is also a possibility, but the symptoms are more consistent with babesiosis.

A 15-Year-Old Boy Spent Most of the Summer at the Northern