Summer is tick season and there it is a time to be concerned about tick bites. Researchers have discovered a new dangerous infection caused by a tick bite.

Babesiosis

A tick bite can not only give you the debilitating Lyme Disease but now there are ticks carried by deer that can carry a parasite that causes babesiosis. Babesiosis is an illness with symptoms like malaria. Symptoms may be fever, sweats, muscle aches, and headache. Babesiosis can be fatal and aggressively attacks the immune systems. There is no screening test for this disease.

Babesiosis occurs mainly in coastal areas in the northeastern United States, especially the offshore islands of New York and Massachusetts. Cases have also been reported in Wisconsin, California, Georgia, and in some European countries.

“We are very worried about it and are doing everything in our power to address this,” said Sanjai Kumar, chief of the laboratory of emerging pathogens at the Food and Drug Administration.

Tick Bite Prevention

The only prevention is to daily check your body for ticks before bed on a regular basis. If you have pets playing outdoors, be sure to check them as well so they do not carry the tick indoors. You risk of the disease diminishes if you remove the tick within 24 hours. If you suspect you have a tick bite, contact your doctor.