One of the most challenging parts of navigating healthcare is understanding the many terms relevant to your condition(s). This is certainly true when it comes to tick-borne diseases. However, education and knowledge about your health can be a life changer when seeking diagnosis and treatment.
If you’ve been affected by tick-borne diseases, we’re here to help clear up some confusion. We’ve outlined some of the most common terms related to tick-borne diseases and Lyme disease information, and how they might affect you.
Lyme disease:
Lyme disease is a tick-borne disease caused by a type of bacteria called Borrelia. Often called “Lyme’s disease” or “Lymes disease,” the correct term is Lyme disease.
Common symptoms of Lyme disease include fatigue, joint pain, fever, headache, and a bull’s eye rash (erythema migrans). Acute infections can typically be treated with antibiotics, but left untreated can lead to long-term complications such as in chronic Lyme disease or Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS).
Vector-borne:
Vector-borne refers to vector-borne diseases, infections and diseases carried and transmitted by another organism, typically arthropods like ticks, fleas, and mosquitos. Types of vectors and the diseases they carry depend on where they are geographically and sometimes the season.
Common vector-borne diseases include Lyme disease, Babesiosis, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, West Nile virus disease, and dengue fever.
Host:
In biology, a host refers to a living being that is acting as a harbor for invading pathogens. In terms of tick-borne illnesses, the ‘host’ is whatever organism a tick is feeding from. For example, if a tick attaches to a deer, the deer is the host.
Nymph:
A tick that is not quite at the adult phase of its lifecycle, but is not a larva, is referred to as a nymph. Typically, ticks enter the nymph stage between fall and spring. Nymphs grow their final two legs and, in warm weather, will search for hosts to feed from.
Erythema migrans:
One of the most easily identifiable symptoms of Lyme disease, erythema migrans, is a type of rash that often looks like a bull’s eye. According to the CDC, this rash occurs in about 70-80% of cases, although not everyone who develops a rash displays the classic “bull’s eye” shape.
Erythema migrans can grow up to 12 inches across, typically developing between 3 and 30 days after being bit by an infected tick.
Lyme neuroborreliosis:
Also referred to as “neurological Lyme disease,” Lyme neuroborreliosis occurs when the bacteria that causes Lyme disease invades the central nervous system. This can also occur in people infected with Tick-borne Relapsing Fever (TBRF).
Symptoms of Lyme neuroborreliosis include mental health issues like depression and anxiety, sleep disorders, brain fog, memory and focus problems, communication problems, irritability, and other neurological symptoms. Another potential symptom is facial or Bell’s palsy, which causes one side of the face to be temporarily paralyzed.
Co-infection:
Co-infection refers to other diseases a tick may carry, not just Lyme disease. It is possible for a tick to carry one or multiple co-infections and not Lyme, or multiple pathogens including those that cause Lyme disease, and therefore, infect individuals with more than one disease when bitten by a tick.
Possible co-infections depend on where you are in the world. For example, some potential co-infections in the U.S. include Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Lyme disease, Bartonellosis, and TBRF (inclusive of B. miyamotoi). This is why it’s so essential to seek comprehensive testing after a tick bite or the development of symptoms.
IGeneX tests for multiple diseases, and from what is tested, defines Borreliosis as Lyme disease and TBRF, and co-infections as Bartonellosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Anaplosmosis, and Rickettsiosis (inclusive of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever).
Pathogen:
A pathogen is an organism that can cause disease to its host. Pathogens are what ticks carry and potentially pass on to you via a bite. Transmission of tick-borne pathogens to humans mainly occur via a tick-bite, but are also known to occur via blood transfusions, and from mother to baby in-vitro.
The types of pathogens that ticks carry include viruses, bacteria, and parasites.
Infectious diseases:
An infectious disease is an illness that is caused by a pathogen like fungi, bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Although ticks carry and can transmit infectious diseases, that doesn’t mean you become communicable to another person.
Northern hemisphere:
Ticks in the northern hemisphere, such as in the U.S., can transmit various infections. Some possible tick-borne diseases in the northern hemisphere include Borreliosis (Lyme disease and TBRF), Babesiosis, Anaplasmosis, Colorado tick fever, Bourbon virus, Ehrlichiosis, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever.
This is not a complete list of possible infections.
European countries:
There are also ticks in many European countries. While they’re present throughout all of Europe, they are found in the highest numbers in Wester Europe, specifically Estonia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. While the diseases they carry may vary from those in the U.S., they can still carry infectious pathogens.
If you live in or travel to a European country, you can stay aware by looking at the EU’s tick map.
Lyme borreliosis:
Borrelia burgdorferi is the name of the bacteria that can cause Lyme disease. It is most often transmitted by blacklegged ticks.
Biofilm:
A biofilm is when a group of microorganisms, such as bacteria, grow in a collective, such as plaque on the teeth. Emerging research shows that biofilms play a role in chronic Lyme disease, acting as a protective community for the bacteria.
Biofilms of Lyme disease make it more difficult for them to be fought by the immune system and antibiotics. Doctors sometimes use different approaches, including natural remedies, to breakdown biofilms, before they are able to tackle the bacteria.
Immunosuppressed:
If someone is immunosuppressed, they have a compromised immune system, making it difficult to fight infections and diseases.
Lyme disease can impair the immune system, making it weaker and unable to produce antibodies, leading to other potential health issues.
Protecting Yourself from Ticks
Tick-borne diseases can be scary and challenging to navigate. While some cases are unavoidable, you can take steps to help protect yourself and your family from them by preventing tick bites in the first place.
Remember these steps when you’re in an area where ticks are common:
- Use a bug spray containing DEET or essential oils like citronella or lemon and eucalyptus.
- Wear long hair up and tied back.
- Wear long pants and tuck them into socks.
- Thoroughly check yourself, your children, and your pets for ticks after possible exposure.
- Stay aware of potential tick habitats with tools like the TickTracker app.
If you or someone you know happens to get bit by a tick, be sure to test yourself for infection as soon as possible and save the tick for testing as well. IGeneX offers the most accurate and comprehensive tick testing available to help keep you and your family safe.