Lyme Disease and Co-Infections
Lyme Disease
Vector(s): Ixodes scapularis, Ixodes pacificus
Causative Agent: Borrelia burgdorferi
Incubation Period: 3-30 days
Signs and Symptoms:
Early Symptoms :
- Fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes
- Erythema migrans (EM) rash
Late Symptoms :
- Problems with short-term memory
- Shooting pains, numbness, or tingling in the hands or feet
- Episodes of dizziness or shortness of breath, inflammation of the brain and spinal cord, nerve pain
- Heart palpitations or an irregular heart beat
- Facial palsy (loss of muscle tone or droop on one or both sides of the face)
- Arthritis with severe joint pain and swelling
- EM rashes on other areas of the body
- Severe headaches, neck stiffness
Content source: Centers for Disease Control
Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever
Vector: Dog Tick
Causative Agent: Rickettsia rickettsii
Incubation Period: 2-14 days
Signs and Symptoms:
- fever
- chills
- severe headache
- malaise, myalgia
- gastrointestinal symptoms ( nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, abdominal tenderness),
- neurological deficits
- sudden deafness
- Can be fatal if not treated within the first 5 days from the start of symptoms
- Content source: Centers for Disease Control
Ehrlichiosis
Vector: Lone Star Tick, Brown Dog Tick
Causative Agent: Ehrlichia chaffeensis, E. ewingii
Incubation Period: 7-14 days
Signs and Symptoms:
- fever
- headache
- chills, cough
- malaise, myalgia
- gastrointestinal symptoms
- confusion
- rash ( more common in children)
Late Stage (if not treated)
- Damage to the brain or nervous system (e.g. inflammation of the brain and surrounding tissue (called meningoencephalitis))
- Respiratory failure
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- Organ failure
- Death
Vector: Ixodes scapularis Ixodes pacificus
Causative Agent: Anaplasma phagocytophilum
Incubation Period: 7-14 days
Signs and Symptoms:
- fever
- chills
- malaise
- myalgia
- gastrointestinal symptoms
- cough
Content source: Centers for Disease Control
Babesiosis
Vector: Ixodes scapularis
Causative Agent: Babesia microti
Incubation Period: 1-9 weeks
Signs and Symptoms:
- Fever, chills, sweats, headache
- Malaise, fatigue
- Myalgia, arthralgia,
- Gastrointestinal symptoms
- Dark urine
- Less common: cough, sore throat, emotional lability, depression
- Mild splenomegaly, mild hepatomegaly, or jaundice may occur
Content source: Centers for Disease Control
Borrelia miyamotoi
Vector: Ixodes scapularis
Causative Agent: Borrelia miyamotoi
Incubation Period: Days to weeks ( specific incubation period is unknown)
Signs and Symptoms:
- Fever
- Chills
- Fatigue
- headache
- Arthralgia, myalgia
Less common symptoms
- Dizziness, confusion, vertigo
- Rash
- Dyspnea
- Nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and anorexia
Content source: Centers for Disease Control
Tularemia
Vector: Dermacentor variabilis ( Dog Tick), D. andersoni (Wood Tick), Amblyomma americanum ( Lone Star Tick)
Causative Agent: Francisella tularensis
Incubation Period: 3-5 days, but the range can be 1-21 days
Signs and Symptoms:
- Fever, chills
- Headache
- Malaise, fatigue
- Anorexia
- Myalgia
- Chest discomfort, cough
- Sore throat
- Vomiting, diarrhea
- Abdominal pain
Content source: Centers for Disease Control