Tick-borne diseases in the USA in perspective
An interesting piece by Steve in ProMED, regarding tick borne diseases in the US:
Although Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease are better known to the lay public, the list of additional tick-borne diseases has grown in recent years. The incidence of Lyme disease in the United States is greater than 5-fold that of all other tick-borne infections combined:
If we eliminate Lyme disease, we find that tularemia was the most common disease in this group until 1965, but has since been superseded by Rocky Mountain spotted fever — and more recently Ehrlichiosis:
Most significantly, although deaths due to other tick-borne diseases have declined in recent years, the number dying from tularemia has remained surprisingly constant for over 4 decades:
