We sought to determine the behavioral risk of exposure to tick-borne diseases across a human land-use gradient in a region endemic for diseases transmitted by the lone star tick. We measured the knowledge, attitudes, and preventive behaviors of visitors to 14 suburban, exurban, and rural recreational parks. A structured interview was conducted to determine respondents' (n=238) knowledge of tick...

Serious tick-induced allergies comprise mammalian meat allergy following tick bites and tick anaphylaxis. Mammalian meat allergy is an emergent allergy, increasingly prevalent in tick-endemic areas of Australia and the United States, occurring worldwide where ticks are endemic. Sensitisation to galactose-α-1,3-galactose (α-Gal) has been shown to be the mechanism of allergic reaction in mammalia...

The tick responsible for Lyme disease is common in areas inhabited by deer. This should theoretically put military personnel at increased risk. A history of tick bite is uncommon and the characteristic skin rash often absent. Two examples of servicemen with neurological Lyme disease without cutaneous manifestations are discussed, and six other cases referred to the RAF Institute of Pathology an...

The most common clinical manifestation of Lyme disease is the characteristic rash, erythema migrans (EM). In the 1980s EM-like eruptions were reported in Missouri and other southeastern states. The EM-like eruptions, which were of unknown etiology, often followed the bite of the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum) and the rash is called STARI (southern tick-associated rash illness). Although ...

We determined whether the span of infectivity of Lyme disease spirochetes (Borrelia burgdorferi) to vector ticks varies with the mode of infection in laboratory mice. Noninfected larval deer ticks were permitted to feed on two strains of spirochete-infected mice that had been naturally (via tick bite) and parenterally (via needle injection) infected with B. burgdorferi 2, 4, or 8 weeks earlier,...

The investigations were conducted in the Lublin province (south-eastern Poland) in areas of high agricultural and recreational value. Among the 418 patients admitted to medical clinics due to arthropod bites in the years 2003-2005, 184 people (44%) had been bitten by ticks. As shown by the research, high-risk groups include people whose stay in tick habitats is connected with their occupational...

A healthy man who presented to hospital with painful swelling of the left arm following a history of insect (tick) bite developed shock and died within 48 hours. The postmortem examination revealed swelling and desquamation of skin and erythema on the left arm extending below the elbow. The subcutaneous tissue was necrotic with healthy underlying muscles. Group A β-hemolytic streptococcus was i...

The blacklegged tick Ixodes scapularis is widely distributed in the United States and transmits multiple pathogens to humans, wildlife and domestic animals. Recently, several novel viruses in the family Bunyaviridae (South Bay virus (SBV) and Blacklegged tick phlebovirus (BTPV)) were identified infecting female I. scapularis ticks collected in New York State. We used metagenomic sequencing to i...