“The Dangers of Tick Bites: Lyme Disease, Tick-Spot Fever, Anaplasmosis, Babesiose, and Tick-Borne Encephalitis”

Ticks are small spider-like creatures that feed on blood. The small bloodsuckers hide in the grass or in bushes and strike when people or animals pass by. The bugs jump on the skin, suck themselves full of blood and usually release themselves after about five days. The insidious thing about tick bites is that they don’t hurt and you don’t feel them. If you are bitten, pathogens can enter your body. It can make you very ill if left untreated. Lyme disease is the best known, but there are more diseases that you can get from a tick bite.

Lyme disease

Lyme disease occurs almost everywhere in the world and is transmitted via a bacteria through a tick bite. The most common tick in the Netherlands is the Ixodes Ricinus. The Borrelia bacteria that is often present in this leech can cause the well-known and infamous Lyme disease in humans. The symptoms of this vary from flu-like symptoms to serious problems in the nervous system. ‘Lyme’ is treated with antibiotics. If you are not treated in time, you may experience pain in your arm or leg several weeks to months after the tick bite. Without treatment, Lyme disease can become chronic. You can then suffer from cardiac arrhythmias, a tendency to faint, severe walking and orientation problems, joint pain and problems with the facial muscles.

Read here how you can prevent a tick bite

Tick-spot fever

Another tick disease that people can contract is Fièvre bouonneuse. The greatest risk of infection is during a holiday around the Mediterranean Sea. The pathogen of this ‘tick-spot fever’ is a bacterium that, like viruses, lives inside cells. This bacteria is transmitted by a tick other than the carrier of Lyme disease. One week after the tick bite, the symptoms of the disease become visible: a typical black, sunken scab with a red discoloration around the tick bite and a rash of red spots all over the body. The infection is often accompanied by headaches, aching muscles and joints, and a drop in blood pressure. Sometimes there are also abnormalities in the nervous system and the kidneys do not work properly. A little less than a week after the infection, chills and fever set in, which can last up to two weeks. This disease is treatable with antibiotics.

Also read: everything you need to know about ticks

Two ticks on leaf in nature. Photo: Adobe Stock / Vitalii hulai.

Anaplasmosis

There are also other rickettsia-like bacteria that can be transmitted to humans via ticks. They cause the disease anaplasmosis. There is almost always some kind of flu with a severe headache, fever, muscle cramps and a feeling of general malaise. Often the function of the liver, kidneys or blood clotting is also disturbed and the central nervous system may be affected. Anaplasmosis occurs in horses and dogs, among others, but can also affect humans.

Babesiose

This strain is notorious for transmitting Babesia disease in dogs: a parasite that lodges in blood cells and can lead to serious illness and death. Disease symptoms may include fever, lethargy, not eating, rapid breathing, and dark urine. The disease can be transmitted to humans by ticks, but only people who no longer have a spleen or who otherwise have a poorly functioning immune system – such as after an infection with HIV – become ill.

Also read: the danger of ticks is greatest in these places

Tick-borne encephalitis

Tick-borne encephalitis is a form of brain inflammation transmitted by ticks. The disease occurs in southern Germany, northeastern France, Austria, Switzerland and some areas in Scandinavia, among others. To reduce the risk of a tick bite, it is best to wear clothing that covers you and apply insect repellent to exposed, vulnerable skin. The disease symptoms range from flu to headaches and joint pain. The symptoms usually disappear after a week. In a small percentage of patients, however, the symptoms return and can lead to encephalitis.