Tick-Borne Diseases in California - It's Not Just Lyme and It's Not Just Deer Ticks!

Lyme Disease is currently the fastest growing bacterial infectious disease in the United States of America. Lyme is caused by a spiral shaped bacteria (spirochete) called Borrelia burgdorferi.  On the East Coast the primary vector for Lyme Disease is the Ioxdes Scapularis Tick with the primary reservoir  being the White Footed Mouse. On the West Coast the primary vector is the Ioxdes Pacificus Tick with the Gray Squirrel being the primary reservoir. (See Previous Post On North American Ticks)

CDC Finds Several New Species of Bartonella: What You Need to Know

In a Paper Titled: "Identification of Novel Zoonotic Activity of Bartonella spp., France" to be published March 2016 in Emerging Infectious Disease Journal, the CDC reports they identified six strains of Bartonella in patients with chronic subjective symptoms and a history of tick bites. Three of the strains strains were B. henselae and 3 were from other animal-associated Bartonella spp. (B. doshiae, B. schoenbuchensis, and B. tribocorum). 

Six Things You Need to Know About Bartonella: 

Four Stages of Lyme Disease: Borrelia burgdorferi

Lyme Disease is a vector borne illness caused by Borrelia Burgdorferi(Bb) a spirochete which is passed on to humans primarily by infected ticks. There are 21 known species of Borrelia and 3 genotypes of B.burgdorferi.  Ticks are small arachnids and can carry numerous bacteria, viruses and protozoa such as Rickettsia, Bartonella, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and Babesia. The tick has a two year life cycle, going from larva to nymph to adult, requiring blood at each stage. Many bites occur during the nymph phase. The typical nymph is about the size of a poppy seed.