(Photo Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) This photograph depicts a dorsal view of a male cayenne tick, Amblyomma cajennense. This tick specie is a known North, Central and South American vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, which is the etiologic agent of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF).
The number of tick-borne illnesses throughout the state has far surpassed the total last year. The Tennessee Health Department has reported 304 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever as of this month, compared to 255 known cases in all of 2011.
Dr. Buddy Creech who is one of Vanderbilt’s infectious disease experts says meningitis bacteria can also be carried by a tick. And children can contract the illnesses without a tick being found, since the insects can remove themselves after their blood meal.
Medical experts link the increased cases in tick-borne illnesses to an abundance this season following a mild winter and early spring.
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