There are more than 60 types of ticks and they can cause various diseases, the most common being Lyme disease, most common in the United States and Europe, and Brazilian Macular Fever, also known as tick disease.
Both diseases are serious and require treatment with antibiotics because they are serious and the bacteria can reach the bloodstream and spread throughout the body and cause organ and system failure. Therefore, it is important to diagnose the disease as soon as possible to start using antibiotics indicated by the doctor to prevent the serious complications that these diseases can bring as respiratory arrest, for example.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever
The tick disease, scientifically called spotted fever, is an infection caused by the bacterium Rickettsia rickettsii present in the star tick, which can affect the human, but in this case it is necessary that the tick is attached to the skin for more than 4 hours. This disease is serious and can lead to death within a few days if not properly treated.
Learn the symptoms, transmission and treatment of spotted fever, the most common tick disease in Brazil.
Lyme disease
Lyme disease affects North America, especially the United States of America and also Europe, is transmitted by the Ixodes tick, the bacterium that causes the disease Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes local reaction with swelling and redness. However, the bacteria can reach the organs causing serious complications that can lead to death if the tick is not removed from the site and if the use of antibiotics is not started early in the onset of symptoms.
Learn more about the symptoms and treatment of Lyme Disease, the most common tick disease in the US and Europe.
Main differences between these diseases
The main differences between Lyme Disease and Macular Fever are:
| Rocky Mountain spotted fever | Lyme disease | |
| Causer | star tick | Ixodes dammini tick |
| Bacteria involved | Rickettsia rickettsii | Borrelia burgdorferi |
| Most affected places | Brazil, USA, Mexico, Canada, Panama, Costa Rica | USA, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Croatia |
How to get the tick off the skin correctly
The best way to avoid these diseases is not to have contact with the tick, but if the tick is stuck to the skin to reduce the risk of being infected, one must be very careful when taking it.
The correct way to get the tick out of the skin is to use tweezers to hold the animal and then wash the skin with soap and water. It is not recommended to use the hands, twist, or crush the tick, also should not be used products such as alcohol or fire.
Warning Signs
After taking the tick from the skin symptoms may appear up to 14 days later, so if you have symptoms such as fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, red patches on the skin, you should go to the emergency room.
