tick-borne diseases

The following tables of tick-borne diseases indigenous to the United States are presented for reference pending preparation of more definitive articles on the individual diseases.

Tick-borne diseases
Disease	Microbe	Type	Range
Lyme disease	Borrelia burgdorferi	bacteria (spirochete)	Northeast, WI, MN, CA
tularemia	Francisella tularensis	bacteria	AR, MO, OK
Rocky Mountain spotted fever	Rickettsia rickettsiae	rickettsia	Southeast, West, Northeast, South Central
ehrlichiosis	Erhlichia chaffiensis	rickettsia	South Central, Northeast, Middle Atlantic
babesiosis	Babesia species	protozoa	Northeast, North Central, Northwest

Features of tick-borne diseases
Disease	Rash	Disease Course
Lyme disease	erythema migrans; later bull's eye rash	low grade fever, headache, fatigue, joint pains, muscle aches, lymph node swelling; later nervous system signs
tularemia	local ulceration at site of bite	painful lymph nodes upstream from bite; typhoidal form can present with fever, chills, abdominal pain
Rocky Mountain spotted fever	80% have rash; flat red spots on wrists/ankles; spreads to trunk, face, palms and soles; becomes raised and petechial	rash, fever, muscle pain, severe headache, abdominal pain 5-7 days after tick bite; other signs of severe illness
ehrlichiosis	only 20% show rash; may be raised or petechial	high fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, muscle aches; severe: kidney failure, respiratory failure, encephalopathy
babesiosis	no rash	gradual onset of fatigue, appetite loss; then fever, drenching sweats, muscle aches, headache; severe: hemolytic anemia, kidney failure, shock