A prior study in mice has shown that the timely application of topical antibiotics to the skin at the tick bite site could eradicate Borrelia burgdorferi infection. That study, however, did not evaluate antibiotic preparations that are considered suitable for use in humans. In this murine study, topical application of 2% erythromycin and 3% tetracycline preparations that are acceptable for use ...

Borrelia hermsii, a causative agent of relapsing fever of humans in western North America, is maintained in enzootic cycles that include small mammals and the tick vector Ornithodoros hermsi. In mammals, the spirochetes repeatedly evade the host's acquired immune response by undergoing antigenic variation of the variable major proteins (Vmps) produced on their outer surface. This mechanism prol...

A 73-year-old Japanese man was referred to Hiroshima Prefectural Hospital with a 6-day history of fever. Nine days prior to admission, he had received a tick bite on his right knee while picking bamboo shoots. Three days after the bite, he developed a fever with shaking chills. Minocycline was prescribed at a local clinic, but his symptoms did not resolve. On admission, his consciousness was un...

Lyme disease, caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common tick-borne illness in the United States. Transmission occurs primarily through the bite of an infected deer tick (Ixodes scapularis). Identification of an erythema migrans rash following a tick bite is the only clinical manifestation sufficient to make the diagnosis of Lyme disease in the absence of laboratory confir...

01 | What is Lyme Disease Lyme Disease is the most common tick-borne transmitted bacterial infection in the U.S. The bacterium, borrelia burgdorferi, is transmitted via a deer tick bite to the skin. Deer ticks, an arachnid, are about the size of a head of a pin. As the deer tick remains attached to the skin, generally thirty six hours, the bacteria can travel into the bloodstream and can affect...

& 2014 Ame Background: Because of frequent exposure to tick habitats, outdoor workers are at high risk for tick-borne diseases. Adherence to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommended tick bite prevention methods is poor. A factory-based method for permethrin impregnation of clothing that provides long-lasting insecticidal and repellent activity is commercially available,...

We report 3 cases of Queensland tick typhus (QTT) and 1 case of African tick bite fever in which the causative rickettsiae were detected by PCR of eschar and skin lesions in all cases. An oral mucosal lesion in 1 QTT case was also positive.

A case of Rickettsia tamurae infection in Japan is reported. A 76-year-old Japanese male had a tick bite which developed to local skin inflammation on his left leg. Anti-rickettsia antibodies were detected in his serum, and R. tamurae DNA was identified in his blood, the lesional skin, and the tick.

Tick-borne lymphadenopathy (TIBOLA), also called Dermacentor-borne necrosis erythema and lymphadenopathy (DEBONEL), is defined as the association of a tick bite, an inoculation eschar on the scalp, and cervical adenopathies. We identified the etiologic agent for 65% of 86 patients with TIBOLA/DEBONEL as either Rickettsia slovaca (49/86, 57%) or R. raoultii (7/86, 8%).

BACKGROUND African tick bite fever is a rickettsial illness that has recently emerged as a significant disease among international travelers. The vector is the Amblyomma tick, which is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the eastern Caribbean. OBSERVATIONS We describe a middle-aged woman who returned from a mission trip to Zimbabwe with an influenzalike illness and inoculation eschar; ...