Tick Borne Diseases

The primary concern of tick bites is the potential for tick borne diseases.  Without the potential for some of these serious illnesses, the tick bite would be no more serious than a small cut.

There are numerous tick borne diseases currently known to modern science.  These diseases are transmitted during the feeding period the tick is attached to the host.  They are common caused by various bacteria and viruses that are either in the tick's saliva or, should the tick fully gorge, blood that is reintroduced to the blood stream. 

Here are some of the more common tick borne diseases.

• Lyme Disease-  One of he more popular concerns stemming from tick bites, Lyme diseases is a bacterial infection that attacks various parts of the body. It begins with flu-like symptoms, then moves into the potential for nerve damage and irritation, along with the potential for meningitis, brain swelling, and arthritis.  This disease is most common in the United States and Europe.
  
  
• Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever-  Another bacterial infection, this is commonly spread by the dog tick in the southern United States.  Those suffering from Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever tend to display a fever with chills, a skin rash, and various aches and pains.  This condition does have the potential to be fatal.
  
  
• Tularemia-  This bacterial infection come from rabbits, and is commonly spread by ticks and ingested meat of an infected animal.  Around 5 percent of cases prove fatal.  When transmitted by a tick, the bite area becomes inflamed and the lymph nodes in the area tend to enlarge.  This causes a disruption of the various body functions of the lymph system.  This disease has the potential of being a bio-terrorism agent.
  
  
• Babesoposis-  A parasitic infection that is transferred to people via tick bites.  This illness can be fatal in those with a sub-par immune system.  The symptoms include flu-like conditions, an enlarged spleen and liver, and eventually, cases of anemia.  This condition can be treated thourhg medications and blood transfusions (severe cases only).
  
  
• Ehrlichiosis-  A disease similar to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, that is prominent from dog ticks.  This tick borne disease can also lead to a low white blood cell count and various types of anemia.

These are just a few of the more common types of tick borne diseases, with several others being recognized by medical experts.  The major concern is the most people do not considered the potential of tick borne illnesses when they begin to develop symptoms.  The majority of these conditions have a lengthy incubation period, so a week or two may pass before you start to show signs.  Unless you specifically note that you were bitten by a tick, several tests may need to be performed before you can establish that it was a tick borne disease.

With all of these diseases, you should seek medical advice, but there are certain symptoms that may arise that require more immediate attention.  With many of these conditions, some of the more extreme symptoms can include a severe headache, high fever, dizziness, confusion, numbness of the extremities, and extreme weakness.  Should any of these symptoms appear, especially in those who are very young, very old, or those with pre-existing medical conditions, emergency help should be sought.

As civilization continues to encroach on the ticks natural habitat, bites and tick borne diseases will continue to emerge and cases are expected to grow in numbers.  New illnesses are found every day.  For example, STARI (southern tick-associated rash illness) was recently discovered.  Transmitted by the lone star tick, it acts like a weaker version of Lyme disease, displaying a highly similar bulls eye rash with the accompanying flu-like symptoms.  Doctors still have yet to isolate the agent the specifically causes this type of infection.

Since tick borne diseases tend to share many similar symptoms, it if very important to check for tick bites whenever you are in an area they inhabit.  Finding tick bites is the first step to diagnosing these types of medical conditions.  It should be noted that not all bites will transmit an infection.  Only around 5 percent of bites from the deer tick run the risk of Lyme disease, and this in one of the higher figures.

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