Abstract: Babesiosis is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by Babesia infection. Babesia is transmitted through tick bites, blood transfusion or organ transplantation, and primarily parasitizes intracellularly in the erythrocytes of humans or other vertebrates. Babesia infecting humans mainly comprises Babesia microti, B. venatorum, B. duncani, B. divergens, etc. Babesiosis distributed worldwidely. This disease occurs more frequently in summer and autumn, yet is a new and rare parasitic disease in China, therefore many patients failed to receive timely treatment due to unavailable sensitive and effective methods for diagnosis of basesiosis in clinic in the past. However, with highly sensitive molecular biology detection techniques being clinically introduced, more cases of babesiosis were identified and reported. This paper reviewed the case reports of human babesiosis in China since 1943, summarized the research progress in diagnosis, treatment and pathogenesis of babesiosis, and analyzed the challenges and prospects for the prevention and control of babesiosis in China.

Key words: Babesiosis, Epidemic, Clinical manifestations, Diagnosis, Treatment, Research progress, Challenges