Which ticks carry lyme disease?
As we have discussed on our main page, lyme disease is a vector-borne infection and the vector that spreads this specific illness is the tick or lyme tick as it is often referred to. The obvious question that people will automatically ask is 'which ticks carry lyme disease?' and this is a question we will answer on this page.
Firstly a little piece of information on vector-borne diseases.
What is a vector-borne disease?
A 'vector' is an animal that is capable of transmitting a disease to a human, for lyme disease the vector is a tick and another example is malaria where the vector is a mosquito.
So the million dollar question here is which exact vector transmits lyme disease or in Lehman’s terms which ticks carry lyme disease?
The most common ticks that are known for carrying lyme disease are highlighted below along with where they can be found in North and South America:
- The Western Black Legged Tick otherwise known as the Ixodes Pacificus - This is a hard bodied parasitic tick that is found mainly across the western coast of North America, however this lyme tick has been found across North America.
- The Deer Tick otherwise known as the Ixodes Scapularis or Ixodes Dammini - As these ticks live up to two years they can be found any time of year. It is a hard bodied tick that is found widely across the eastern, southern and Midwestern states in North America.
- The Lone Star Tick otherwise known as Amblyomma Americanum - This is found widely across the southern and central states of North America as well as in the east as far north as Maine, it is also found in Mexico and northern regions of South America in Brazil, Columbia and Venezuela. This is the most widespread tick that spreads lyme disease in America.
- The Ixodes Angustus - This is a hard bodied parasitic dog lyme tick that is found across North America.
- The Ixodes Spinipalpis - Hard bodied lyme tick found across North America.
All of these ticks are most commonly found in woodland, heathland, grassland, seashore and forest areas as well as sometimes being found in gardens. Northern hemisphere temperate regions are most endemic for lyme disease.
Other areas of the world where ticks which carry lyme disease are found:
Africa
Lyme disease has been found in Northern Africa in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt. In Eastern Africa it has been found in Kenya.
Asia
Ticks which carry lyme disease have been found in Japan, China, Mongolia and Eastern Russia.
Australia
There has been no proof of there being lyme disease in Australia any occurrences have been deemed to have come from victims bieng bitten by a lyme tick whilst visiting other areas of the world.
Canada
Lyme disease carrying ticks can be found across Europe although they have been most frequently discovered in central Europe namely Austria and Slovenia.
Europe
Lyme disease carrying ticks can be found across Europe although they have been most frequently discovered in central Europe namely Austria and Slovenia.
Some lyme ticks do have defining characteristics if you look at them but considering some can be only marginally bigger than a pinhead it is very difficult to tell between them and impossible to know which ticks carry lyme disease just by looking at them. It is vital that you are aware of what lyme disease symptoms are so that whether you think that you have been bitten by a lyme tick or not, you embrace caution and seek immediate medical assistance.
In order for lyme disease to be transmitted from the host tick to a human the lyme tick has to bite the victim. The Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria infiltrates the skin via the saliva of the tick as it bites and feeds by sucking blood from the victim. With this being the case it is not possible for this disease to be passed from a pet, for example a dog (lyme disease in dogs is a common occurrence), to a human or visa versa.
If you are aware that a tick has attached itself to you it is vital that it is removed properly because by trying to do this any old how yourself could actually cause the infection to infiltrate your skin your skin. Remember it is almost impossible to tell which ticks carry lyme disease so it is better to be over cautious in all cases.
We hope that this page has been helpful in informing you which ticks carry lyme disease. For more information on the symptoms of lyme disease or treatment of lyme disease please see our other pages. We have also included a few pictures of lyme ticks on this page to help you recognise them where possible.
