Ticks that transmit Lyme Disease also carry and transmit several other parasitic diseases to humans. Thus more physicians are referring to the disease as Lyme and other tick borne illness, and not simply “Lyme”.
Babesia infection is becoming more commonly recognized, especially in patients who have Lyme Disease. Ehrlichiosis is another common co-infection found among people with Lyme Disease. (Anaplasma phagocytophila, Human Granulocytic Ehrlichiosis HGE, Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis HME ) It is also said that Bartonella or Cat Scratch Fever is another common co-infection, although there is debate among experts on this topic on tick to human transmission.
Co-infections complicate Lyme symptoms, especially diagnosis and treatment. It is possible for a tick to carry and transmit one of the co-infections and not Borrelia, making diagnosis difficult and often elusive. The CDC’s emerging infections diseases department did a study in rural New Jersey of 100 ticks and found that 55% of the ticks were infected with at least one of the pathogens.
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