Tick Disease 

Ticks are called "disease vectors" because they can transmit a number of dangerous diseases that infect humans, pets and livestock.  

If you've been in an area that ticks are likely to inhabit, and develop any of the tick disease symptoms described below (especially from May through early fall), see a doctor for an evaluation right away.

The following is a list of the most common diseases transmitted by ticks.

Lyme Disease (LD)

Lyme disease is the most common disease carried by ticks in the U.S. Seventy percent of all cases are reported in the Northeast: Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey. The rest often occur in the upper mid-western states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Because of the presence of a certain type of lizard that feeds on ticks, there is a lower percentage of cases in the far west, although some areas have a much higher rate than others.

Lyme disease transmitted by ticks has been increasing in the Southeastern and Southern states in recent years.

Symptoms of Lyme disease

• A "bull's eye" skin rash around the bite that appears between three days and three weeks,
• flu-like symptoms: fever, chills, headache, and excessive fatigue,
• intermittent arthritis-like pain in major joints,
• severe nerve disorders such as Belle's Palsy, which involves a paralysis of parts of the face.

Tick Paralysis

Tick paralysis can occur from direct, long term contact with infected ticks. These ticks often attach themselves to the back of the neck or behind the ear for several days or even longer. It causes acute paralysis of motor nerves mammals and is usually fatal unless the tick is removed.

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (RMSF)

Despite the geographical nature of its name, this tick disease (also known as RMSF) is most often found in the Southeast and South-central U.S. It's also prevalent in Mexico and in Central and South America. The disease is caused by a species of bacteria known as Rickettsia rickettsii, which is spread to humans by ixodid (hard) ticks. Rocky Mountain spotted fever is the most severe and most frequently reported rickettsial illness in the U.S.

Symptoms of Rocky Mountain spotted fever include

• bloodshot eyes,
• chills,
• headaches, appearing three to 14 days after infection,
• malaise,
• musclar pain and aches,
• nervous symptoms, such as sleeplessness, restlessness, and even delirium,
• sudden high fever.

About half of those who have RMSF develop a spotty red rash on the soles of the feet and palms of the hands. This symptom usually appears within two to three days after the rapid onset of a high fever.

RMSF is an extremely dangerous disease if left untreated. There is a 13-25 percent fatality rate for untreated human RMSF cases.

Human Ehrlichioses

This tick disease is also caused by a rickettsial organism and has been reported mainly in Southern states.

Symptoms of Human Ehrlichioses include

• fever,
• chills,
• headache,
• aches and pains in the muscles and joints,
• loss of appetite, eye pain, nausea
• vomiting.

Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE)

Also known as HGE, this borne disease is also caused by a rickettsial organism. HGE is relatively uncommon disease which was first isolated from a tick from Wisconsin in 1995. It has since been reported in at least seven other states. Fatality rates are usually high.

Symptoms include

• fever
• chills
• headache
• aches and pains in joints and muscles
• loss of appetite
• eye pain
• nausea
• vomiting