Increase in Tickborne Diseases Likely

Posted by nnlmscr on August 14th, 2018 Posted in: Blog, Community Engagement, NIH, Public Health, Rural Health

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The next time you spend time outside, you might want to check closely for ticks.  Officials from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) report an increase in the number of tickborne diseases.

The most common tickborne illness is Lyme Disease, a bacterial infection resulting from a tick bite.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that there are nearly 30,000 cases of Lyme disease reported each year.  Symptoms include fatigue, fever, headache, and skin rash; however, if left untreated the disease can spread and cause additional complications.

Although Lyme Disease is the most common, other U.S. tickborne disease include:

• Anaplasmosis
• Babesiosis
• Borrelia mayonii
• Borrelia miyamotoi
• Bourbon virus
• Colorado tick fever
• Ehrlichiosis
• Heartland virus
• Powassan disease
• Rickettsia parkeririckettsiosis
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF)
• STARI (Southern tick-associated rash illness)
• Tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF)
• Tularemia
• 364D rickettsiosis

Despite the increase the CDC  states that incidences of these disease are underreported.  The article in which NIH discusses the increase in tickborne disease states it is critical scientists work to develop vaccines.  Read the entire article to see other NIH recommendations.

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