Use the navigation bullets to learn more about major illnesses associated with tick bites.

Lyme disease was first discovered in 1973. Since then, the number of cases has dramatically increased over the years as well as the geographic distribution. People can become infected by bites from typically deer ticks, although recent studies have shown mosquitos and horse flies can have the spirochete (the bacteria that causes Lyme Disease) in them. It is not clear if they can transmit the disease. 

Bottom line Inc. link: https://youtu.be/HqCO12PDCAA

There is a wide range of symptoms for Lyme disease, but a red bullseye rash is a dead giveaway that a person could be infected and needs to be tested ASAP. (40% of people do not see a rash & are still infected.) Lyme disease can show up on an ordinary blood test, but many times it does not. If you receive a negative test result, it could still be positive, since testing is highly inaccurate. This is a very complex & controversial disease.

Human Babesiosis is an infection like malaria and should be taken seriously since in some cases it has been fatal. It has been experimentally demonstrated that a bite from a single tick can transmit the pathogen. This illness destroys red blood cells and can cause a type of hemolytic anemia. This type of anemia leads to the yellowing of the skin and darkened urine. 

Infection by any Bartonella species is called Bartonellosis. This species of bacteria is slow growing, comes in different shapes, and they can live in isolated locations in the body. The complexity of this bacteria protects it from the immune system and antibiotics. 40 different species have been recognized and a patient can harbor more than one of the species. Bartonellosis has over 22,000 cases reported each year.  This number does not include the unreported cases.  1/3 of domestic cats are infected with these tick-borne microbes and many cases of transmission come from a scratch from an infected cat. The treatment for Bartonellosis can be different from the treatment of Lyme Disease.

Anaplasmosis is a tick-borne disease caused by the infectious bacterial organism Anaplasma phagocytophilum. It is transmitted through bites of the deer tick (also known as the black-legged tick) and western black-legged tick. A lesser form of anaplasmosis is caused by Anaplasma platys and is transmitted by the brown dog tick. Anaplasmosis has been reported worldwide in a wide variety of animals.Ehrlichiosis is the general name used to describe diseases caused by the bacteria Ehrlichia chaffeensis, E. ewingii, or E. muris eauclairensis in the United States. These bacteria are spread to people primarily through the bite of infected ticks including the lone star tick (Amblyomma americanum) and the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis).

RMSF is a bacterial disease that can be fatal if not treated early and with the right antibiotic. The most common symptom in people who are infected with Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever is the rash that develops after infection. The look of the rash varies greatly from red splotches to small pinpoint dots. While nearly all people with RMSF develop a rash, it often does not become visible until the later stages, which makes it difficult to diagnose based on the rash alone.

Link for more information on RMSF:

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever Can Be Deadly: How to Prevent, Diagnose, and Treat It | Vital Plan (rawlsmd.com)RMSF Rashes

LEARN MORE ABOUT ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER

The Powassan Virus is a tick-borne disease that causes swelling of the brain itself, and the membranes around it. There have only been 100 cases in the last 10 years. However, experts predict that the Powassan virus will spread more quickly due to the virus recently spreading to the deer tick population. This species is significantly more likely to bite humans. In the past, it was only carried by tick species that rarely ever bit humans.

Mycoplasma is spread by biting insects (ticks, mosquitoes, fleas, biting flies), sexual contact, contaminated food, and airborne droplets. Most everyone has been exposed to some form of mycoplasma. Several mycoplasma species have been closely associated with many chronic degenerative diseases like multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease, according to publications like the International Reviews of Immunology and the British Journal of Medical Practitioners.

Alpha-gal (Red Meat Allergy) is a condition discovered in 2006 that has been linked to Lone Star ticks. Alpha-gal is a carbohydrate molecule that can cause an allergic reaction when people consume red meat. The Lone Star tick is not the only cause but accounts for 80% of all cases. The allergic reactions/symptoms can be difficult to link to a meat allergy because it can take 3-5 hours after consuming red meat for the person to develop the life-threatening symptoms such as anaphylaxis. The first line of treatment for serious allergic reactions is epinephrine which is available on prescription as an auto-injector.