Tick-Bourne Illnesses: More Than Just Lyme Disease

Lyme disease may be the tick-borne illness you’ve heard of, but it’s not the one you should be most worried about. While Louisiana doesn’t have any endemic Lyme disease, there are other illnesses that can be transmitted by infected ticks in our area including Rocky Mountain spotted fever carried by the Rocky Mountain wood tick, American dog tick and the brown dog tick, Rickettsia parkeri from the Gulf Coast tick, and Alpha-gal syndrome from the Lone Star tick.

While not all ticks carry disease, use caution while hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, or enjoying the outdoors, and be sure you know how to spot a suspicious bite or symptoms. A bite from an infected tick can result in a bull’s-eye rash that surrounds the bite or flu-like symptoms that may not appear for days or even weeks after being bitten. Symptoms from tick-borne illnesses can be similar usually occur in stages and can include:

• Fatigue
• Headache
• Fever
• Nausea or vomiting
• Muscle and joint pain
• Stiff neck
• Swollen glands
• Fever and chills
• Loss of appetite

Without treatment, tick-borne illnesses can get worse with rashes that have spread to other parts of the body, fever, muscle weakness and extreme fatigue.

The best way to avoid tick bites is to dress appropriately. Wear light-colored pants and long-sleeved shirts so ticks can be easily identified, closed toe shoes and tall socks, and use tick repellents. Make sure to spray your clothing, shoes, socks, camping gear and tent. Use repellents that contain 30% or more DEET. If you find a tick on yourself or a loved one, it should be removed promptly. Make sure to report any symptoms of illness or disease to your doctor immediately.