New Tick-Borne Illness Could Be Worse Than Lyme Disease

Bob DeLong | BDN

Many people are unaware of being bitten by the deer tick (right). At the highly infectious nymphal stage (left), the deer tick is about the size of a period at the end of a sentence.

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A new disease spread by deer ticks has already infected 100,000 New Yorkers since the state first started keeping track.
As CBS 2’s Dr. Max Gomez reported, the new deer tick-borne illness resembles Lyme disease, but is a different malady altogether – and it could be even worse.
The common deer tick is capable of spreading dangerous germs into the human bloodstream with its bite. However, Lyme disease is one of many diseases that ticks carry.
The latest disease is related to Lyme, and an infected person will suffer similar symptoms.
“Patients with this illness will develop, perhaps, fever, headache, flu-like symptoms, muscle pains — so they’ll have typical Lyme-like flu symptoms in the spring, summer, early fall,” said Dr. Brian Fallon of Columbia University. “But most of them will not develop the typical rash that you see with Lyme disease.”...Read here...