Babesia divergens is an intraerythrocytic

Red blood cell

Red blood cells are the most common type of blood cell and the vertebrate organism's principal means of delivering oxygen to the body tissues via the blood flow through the circulatory system...

 protozoan parasite, transmitted by the tick

Tick

Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...

 Ixodes ricinus

Ixodes ricinus

Ixodes ricinus, the castor bean tick, is a chiefly European species of hard-bodied tick. It may reach a length of when engorged with a blood meal, and can transmit both bacterial and viral pathogens such as the causative agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis.-Description:In common...

. It is the main agent of bovine

Bovinae

The biological subfamily Bovinae includes a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large sized ungulates, including domestic cattle, the bison, African buffalo, the water buffalo, the yak, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes...

 babesiosis

Babesiosis

Babesiosis is a malaria-like parasitic disease caused by infection with Babesia, a genus of protozoal piroplasms. After trypanosomes, Babesia are thought to be the second most common blood parasites of mammals and they can have a major impact on health of domestic animals in areas without severe...

, or "redwater fever", in Europe. Young cattle are less susceptible. The current emphasis in Europe on sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...

 and extensification is likely to lead to an increase in vector tick populations with increased risk of infection.

It is not only a cause of significant loss to the cattle industry; it can also infect immunocompromised

Immunodeficiency

Immunodeficiency is a state in which the immune system's ability to fight infectious disease is compromised or entirely absent. Immunodeficiency may also decrease cancer immunosurveillance. Most cases of immunodeficiency are acquired but some people are born with defects in their immune system,...

humans, causing medical emergencies characterized by rapid fulmination and parasitemias that may exceed 70%.