Ticks have dirty mouths! A single tick bite can transmit other diseases besides Lyme, often referred to as co-infections. Understanding the possibility of these other infections and knowing their symptoms will help you get the proper diagnosis and treatment.

Some of the most common tick-borne diseases include:

  • Anaplasmosis
  • Babesiosis
  • Bartonella
  • Borrelia burgorferi (Lyme)
  • Borrelia miyamotoi *
  • Borrelia mayonii*
  • Colorado tick fever
  • Ehrlichiosis
  • Powassan
  • Rickettsia helvetica*
  • Rocky Mountain spotted fever
  • Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI)
  • Tick Paralysis
  • Tick-borne relapsing fever
  • Tularemia

* Recently identified pathogens

Tick Species and Diseases They Carry

 

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a 2017 report, “Tickborne Diseases of the United States” summarizing geographic presence, signs and symptoms of the diseases and the ticks that carry them.

There is much more to learn and better data is emerging on these and other diseases not included in this chart. For example:

For a full list of tick species with photos, visit the CDC website.