Tick paralysis is caused by a neurotoxin in the saliva of feeding female Dermacentor or other tick species, not by any infection. Symptoms - ascending weakness over hours to days - typically begin to reverse within 24 hours of removing the tick. The toxin's effect is dose-dependent on body mass, which is why most cases are in young children.
A child who suddenly cannot stand or walk should be checked head-to-toe for an attached tick, especially in the scalp behind the ears,…
Tick saliva contains hundreds of pharmacologically active proteins that suppress the host's immune response, dilate blood vessels, prevent…
In a deer-tick mouse model, Powassan virus passed to naive mice after as little as 15 minutes of tick attachment. There appears to be no…
Mailing a removed tick to a lab for pathogen testing is useful for community surveillance but should not drive treatment decisions. CDC…
Dermacentor occidentalis transmits Rickettsia 364D (now classified as Rickettsia rickettsii subsp. californica), the cause of Pacific…
CDC and IDSA guidance hold that Borrelia burgdorferi typically requires 36 to 48 hours of tick attachment to transmit. Removing a…