Table 1.
Main groups of tick-borne pathogens and diseases. See the main text for references
|
Disease or condition |
Pathogen [main vector]* |
Geography |
Prevalence† and comments |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Viral | |||
|
Flaviviridae / Flavivirus (tick-borne encephalitis group) | |||
|
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) |
TBE virus complex (I. ricinus, I. persulcatus) |
Europe, Asia, Middle East |
Common and widespread |
|
Powassan encephalitis (POW) |
POW virus (I. scapularis, I. cookei) |
Northeastern USA/ adjacent Canada, Russian Far East |
Rare, increasing |
|
Other TBEs: Omsk haemorrhagic fever (OHF), Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), louping ill, others |
OHF, KFD, other viruses (Ixodes, Dermacentor, Haemophysalis sp.) |
Europe, Russia, China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, Middle East |
Rare to common within localized range; some increasing |
|
Bunyavirales/ Orthonairovirus | |||
|
Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) |
CCHF virus (Hyalomma marginatum, other tick sp.) |
Europe, Central Asia, India, Africa |
Common and widespread; increasing |
|
Bunyavirales/ Phlebovirus | |||
|
Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) |
SFTS virus (H. longicornis and R. microplus) |
China, Korea, Japan |
Uncommon, increasing |
|
Heartland virus |
(A. americanum) |
Mid-western and southern USA |
Rare |
|
Bhanja virus |
(Dermacentor, Haemophysalis sp.) |
Africa, Central Asia, southern Europe |
Rare |
|
Orthomyxoviridae / Thogotovirus | |||
|
Thogoto (THOV), Dhori (DHOV) and Bourbon virus |
(Hyalomma, Amblyomma, Rhipicephalus sp.) |
Africa, Asia, Europe (THOV and DHOV), USA (Bourbon) |
Rare; Bourbon virus isolated from A. americanum |
|
Reoviridae / Coltivirus |
|
|
|
|
Colorado tick fever (CTF) |
CTF virus (D. andersoni) |
Western USA and Canada |
Rare |
|
Eyach virus |
(I. ricinus) |
Central Europe |
Rare |
|
Bacterial | |||
|
Spirochaetales/Borrelia spirochetes (borreliosis and relapsing fever) | |||
|
Lyme disease |
Borrelia burgdorferi (I. ricinus complex) |
Temperate North America, Europe, Asia |
Common, widespread |
|
Relapsing fever borreliosis |
B.miyamotoi (I. ricinus complex) |
Temperate North America, Europe, Asia? |
Rare |
|
Relapsing fever borreliosis – tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) |
Relapsing fever Borrelia (Ornithodoros and Carios sp.) |
Worldwide (except Australia), mostly tropical and desert regions |
Rare to common locally |
|
Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) |
Unknown (A. americanum) |
Southern and eastern USA |
Rare |
|
Rickettsiales/Rickettsia (spotted fever and tick typhus) | |||
|
Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) |
(D. variabilis, D. andersoni, R. sanguineus) |
Western hemisphere |
Common |
|
Rickettsiosis |
R.parkeri (A. maculatum) |
Southern and mid-Atlantic USA, South America |
Rare, emerging in South America |
|
Pacific Coast tick fever (PCTF) |
R. philipii
(D. occidentalis) |
California, Pacific coast |
Rare |
|
Mediterranean spotted fever |
R. conorii complex (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) |
Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia |
Uncommon, imported |
|
African tick bite fever |
R. africae (Amblyomma sp.) |
Africa, West Indies, Oceania |
Uncommon, imported |
|
Rickettsiales/ Anaplasmataceae (anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis) | |||
|
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) |
(I. scapularis, other sp.) |
Northeastern and central USA |
Common; emerging in Europe and Asia |
|
Human ehrlichiosis |
Ehrlichia chaffeensis , E. ewingii (A. americanum) |
Eastern USA |
Common |
|
Human ehrlichiosis |
(I. scapularis) |
Minnesota and Wisconsin |
Rare |
|
Neoehrlichiosis |
Ca. N. mikurensis (Ixodes sp.) |
Europe, Asia |
Rare |
|
Other bacterial | |||
|
Tularaemia |
Francisella tularensis (Amblyomma, Dermacentor Ixodes and Haemaphysalis) |
North America, Europe, Asia |
Uncommon by tick bite; other routes of exposure |
|
Parasites (Protists) | |||
|
Human babesiosis |
Babesia microti, B. divergens, (I. ricinus complex) |
Northeastern and Midwestern USA Europe, China |
Common; emerging in Europe and Asia |
|
Human babesiosis |
B. duncani (WA-1 type parasite) (D. albipictus, I. pacificus?) |
Pacific Coast of North America |
Emerging |
|
Tick bite associated (non-pathogenic) | |||
|
Alpha-gal syndrome (red meat allergy) |
(A americanum, H. longicornis, Ixodes sp.) |
Worldwide |
Uncommon, increasing |
|
Tick paralysis |
Various species |
USA, Australia, other countries |
Rare |
*Generic tick names abbreviated in (): A., Amblyomma; D., Dermacentor; H., Haemophysalis; I., Ixodes; R., Rhipicephalus.
†Prevalence, reported annual number of human cases (approximate): rare, <10; uncommon, >10–1000; common, >1000; common and widespread, ≈several thousands.