A single tick can carry more than one disease-causing pathogen. That means that one bite can transmit multiple infections at the same time, giving you what is called a “co-infection.”
You may have heard that you can catch more than one tickborne illness at once. You can. It’s certainly possible, though it’s rare.
Ticks pick up pathogens by feeding on infected animal hosts. In Michigan, the blacklegged deer tick is the most notorious of the disease carriers, often associated with Lyme disease. This species carries the agents responsible for anaplasmosis and babesiosis, and in uncommon cases, the Powassan virus. When this tick bites, it possesses the capability to deliver multiple pathogens in a single feeding.
This is not a theory. It’s real and it’s documented, and it’s more common where diseases overlap. Ticks tend to co-infect more readily than mosquitoes do.
Co-infections can make illness more severe and harder to diagnose. The symptoms overlap and can blur together, and the standard antibiotic treatment for Lyme won't necessarily cover everything, babesiosis, for instance, is caused by a parasite and needs different medication entirely. This can lead to a case that doesn’t fully respond to initial treatment.
In practice, this is one more reason to avoid being bitten in the first place. You can do this through using tick repellents and hiring a professional to treat the spaces where you spend time outside on your property. It’s also one more reason that if you feel ill after a tick bite, you should mention the bite to your healthcare provider, so they can consider the full range of possibilities rather than assuming a single infection.
If you're tired of the growing list of things a single tick can carry, Mosquito Squad of Metro Detroit can help. Mosquito Squad reduces the ticks in your yard so there are far fewer bites to worry about. This can help you to protect your family with up to 90% reduction in pest activity on a recurring 21-day cycle.
