1888 · Medicine · Discovery
The discovery of Babesia parasites
Victor Babeș
The idea
Babeș observed parasites inside the red blood cells of cattle and sheep in Romania.
The CDC’s historical account records Babeș’s 1888 observations and his connection between the organisms and disease in cattle. The genus Babesia later took his name. Identifying an organism is a discovery, rather than inventing a disease or a cure.