Ticks Disease
Ticks are commonly mistakenly thought of as insects, even though they are actually arachnids like spiders. Tick is the common name for the small arachnids in superfamily Ixodoidea that, along with other mites, constitute the Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites (external parasites), living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and on occasion reptiles and amphibians.
Young ticks have six legs, and mature ticks have eight legs. They differ in size and appearance depending on the type of species. There are more than 800 varieties of ticks throughout the world.
Ticks are leading carriers (vectors) of a number of diseases, including Lyme disease, Q fever, Colorado tick fever, tularemia, tick-borne relapsing fever, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis and Tick-borne meningoencephalitis, as well as anaplasmosis in cattle and canine jaundice.
Ticks are among the most efficient carriers of disease, ticks are second only to mosquitoes worldwide as vectors of disease, both infectious and toxic. It’s not the actually tick bite, but the toxins and pathogens in the tick’s saliva transmitted through the bite that causes the disease.
The most prevalent Lyme disease tick carriers include Ixodes scapularis (Deer Tick), Ixodes pacificus (Western Black Legged Tick) and the Amblyomma americanum (Lone Star Tick).
Ticks Disease
- Babesiosis (Babesia Infection)
- Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever
- Diseases Related to Insects and Their Relatives
- Lyme Disease
- Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI)
- Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever
