Pathogens

Tick-Transmitted Pathogens

Ticks carry a wide range of organisms that potentially can cause disease in animals and humans. They are effective vectors of bacterial, protozoal, viral (and helminthic) diseases. The following table gives a brief overview.

Tick pathogen	Disease	Geographical Distribution	Tick vectors

Bacteria

Borrelia
B. burgdorferi sensu lato	Lyme disease (Borreliosis)		Ixodes species
Genogroups:
B. burgdorferi sensu stricto		North America, Europe, Middle East
B. garinii		Europe, Asia
B. afzelii		Europe, Asia
B. japonica		Japan
Rickettsia (Spotted fever group)
R. conorii	Boutonneuse fever	Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa	Rhipicephalus sanguineus
R. rickettsii	Rocky Mountain spotted fever	USA	Dermacentor andersoni, D. variabilis
*Ehrlichia*
E. canis genogroup	Ehrlichiosis
E. canis		Southern USA, southern Europe, Africa, Middle East, eastern Asia	Rhipicephalus sanguineus
E. chaffeensis		USA	Amblyomma americanum, Dermacentor variabilis
E. ewingii		USA	Unconfirmed
E. phagocytophila genogroup
E. phagocytophila		Northwestern Europe	Ixodes species
E. equi		USA
Human granulocytic ehrlichiosis agent		Midwestern and northeastern USA, northwestern Europe
E. platys		USA, southern Europe, Middle East	Unconfirmed

Protozoa

Babesia
B. microti	Babesiosis	USA	Ixodes scapularis (dammini)
B. divergens		Europe, Mexico	Ixodes ricinus
B. canis canis		Southern and central Europe	Rhipicephalus sanguineus, Dermacentor reticulatus, Dermacentor marginatus
B. canis vogeli		Tropical/semi- tropical regions worldwide	R. sanguineus, Dermacentor reticulatus
B. canis rossi		Southern Africa	Haemaphysalis elliptica (formerly leachi)
B. gibsoni		Africa, Asia, USA, southern Europe, Middle East, Australia	Haemaphysalis bispinosa, H. longicornis, R. sanguineus

Hepatozoon
H. canis	Hepatozoonosis	Southern Europe, Middle East, Far East, Africa	R. sanguineus, Amblyomma maculatum, Haemaphysalis longicornis
H. americanum		Southern USA	Amblyomma americanum

Viruses
Tick-borne encephalitis virus	Tick-borne encephalitis	Europe, Asia	Ixodes ricinus