Ticks are small parasites that feed on the blood of humans and other animals. They attach themselves to the skin and may go unnoticed by the host for some time, increasing the chances of spreading disease. During feeding, they can transmit bacteria, viruses or parasites. Disease transmission is most common in the spring and summer months.
Lyme Disease
Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness, is caused by a spirochete called Borrelia burgdorferi, according to the American Lyme Disease Foundation. This bacterium creates an inflammatory process in the body. The skin is affected early in the course of the illness, followed by the joints and the nervous system. Eventually, other organ systems are affected as well. With early diagnosis, Lyme disease is usually curable with antibiotics.
Anaplasmosis
Anaplasmosis is caused by the bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum. It is transmitted by the western black-legged deer tick. Symptoms are often vague, though most people experience fever, chills, headaches, fatigue and muscle aches within about one week of being bitten. The disease can progress to hemorrhaging and kidney failure.
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
This illness is caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii and is transmitted by the American dog tick and the Rocky Mountain wood tick. Symptoms include a moderate or high fever, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, severe headache and muscle pains. Generally a spotty, flat, pink rash appears two to five days after fever begins. The rash often starts on the wrists, forearms and ankles. The spots eventually become raised and begin to turn black.
Babesiosis
Babesiosis is transmitted by deer ticks, and in the United States, is usually caused by a parasite called Babesii microti, reports the National institutes of Health. Most people afflicted have mild disease, or no symptoms at all, but in the elderly or immune-compromised this can be a fatal disease. Headache, chills, fever, muscle aches, nausea and vomiting develop one to four weeks after being bitten. Symptoms can last for several weeks.
Colorado Tick Fever
This illness is caused by the Colorado tick fever virus, transmitted by a wood tick. It is also called American mountain fever or mountain tick fever. Early symptoms include fever, chills, headache, fatigue and muscle pain. Stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, sore throat and a sensitivity to light may follow. A spotty rash occurs in a small number of cases. Rarely, the illness leads to coma and death.
Tularemia
Also called rabbit fever or deer fly fever, tularemia is caused by the bacterium called Francisella tularensis. The disease can either be mild or result in a fatal infection. Symptoms are sudden fever, swollen glands, headache, muscle aches, joint pain, dry cough and weakness.
Q Fever
Q fever is caused by the bacterium Coxiella burnetii. Infection usually occurs through contaminated air, and tick-borne transmission is rare, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Most cases begin suddenly with high fevers, severe headache, fatigue, muscle aches, confusion, sore throat, cough, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain and chest pain.
Tick Paralysis
This illness occurs mainly in livestock, and human cases are rare. Many species of tick can transmit a neurotoxin that results in paralysis, extending from the lower limbs upward. The American Lyme Disease Foundation states that death results in up to 12 percent of untreated cases.
