β - Bacterium

β

(bā′tă) Beta, second letter of the Greek alphabet. SEE: beta.

¹B

Symbol for the element boron.

²B

Bacillus; Balantidium; barometric; base; bath; behavior; binding; buccal.

BA

basophil. (clinical laboratory).

BAAM

Beck airway airflow monitor.

babble

(bab′ĕl) 1. The meaningless sounds made by an infant before he or she is able to generate mature speech. 2. Any incomprehensible vocalization.

 multitalker b. Background noise made by several speakers talking at the same time. It competes with and may mask or disguise sounds or voices that a person, esp. one with hearing loss, wishes to hear.

Babesia

(bă-bē′zē-ă) [Victor Babès] Genus of protozoa of the family Babesiidae that causes babesiosis, a febrile illness that causes symptoms similar to those found in influenza, accompanied by hemolytic anemia. Babesia microti is the principal human pathogen, transmitted to humans by tick bite. Other hosts include cattle, sheep, horses, and dogs.

 B. bigemina The causative organism of Texas fever in cattle.

 B. bovis The causative organism of hemoglobinuria and jaundice (red-water fever) in cattle. It is a tick-borne protozoan parasite that infects cattle in tropical and subtropical regions of the world and can cause huge losses of livestock.

babesiosis

(bab″ĕ-sī′ŏ-sĭs, bă-bē″zē-ō′sĭs) [Victor Babes, Romanian bacteriologist, 1854–1926 + -osis] A rare, usually self-limited disease caused in North America by an intraerythrocytic protozoan, Babesia microti, and occasionally by other Babesia species. The disease is transmitted by deer ticks and occurs most often in New England in the U.S. It has also been reported elsewhere. Severe forms are most likely to occur in the people and in people without functioning spleens. Rarely, the infection is transmitted by blood transfusion from an asymptomatic carrier. The incubation period may last from weeks to months.

 SYMPTOMS: Symptoms include fever, chills, headache, sweats, myalgia, arthralgia, and nausea and vomiting.

 DIAGNOSIS: The diagnosis is suggested when a patient with an appropriate outdoor exposure presents with typical symptoms, plus hemolytic anemia. Thick and thin blood smears and other laboratory techniques, e.g., the polymerase chain reaction, may be used for definitive confirmation.

 PREVENTION: The skin should be protected from tick exposure. Asplenic persons should avoid endemic areas. After possible exposure, removal of ticks or their nymphs may prevent infection.

 TREATMENT: Drugs used include atovaquone and quinine plus clindamycin or azithromycin, both given orally. Asplenic patients may require exchange transfusion.

Babinski, Joseph-François-Felix

(bă-bin′skē) Fr. neurologist, ...