Do All Ticks Transmit Lyme Disease?

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm Dr. David Hill and today we're going to answer the question, do all ticks transmit lyme disease? No! Okay, we're not done yet. We probably talk about that a little more. No, all ticks do not transmit lyme disease. The only tick in North America that transmits lyme disease is the deer tick, in some places these are called bear ticks. They're black or brown and range in size from sesame seed or the head of the pin to maybe a third of the centimeter across, they have hard, brown or black bodies and as infants or babies, they have six legs and then whey they grow up, they have eight. This can be distinguished with difficulty from other ticks like the dog tick, that's very common and carries all sorts of other nasty diseases like rocky mountain spotted fever and Ehrlichio. There's also a lone star tick which has some white markings on its body, this one carries a disease which is actually called star, it's prominent in the south. The bottom line is while not all ticks carry lyme disease, all ticks are capable of carrying some forms of disease to humans. So, a few have been out there in area with tall grass or out in the wilderness or your child has and one of you comes down with fever, joint pains, headaches, unexplained rashes or other diffused or severe symptoms, you should probably seek care. I can't say that it is indeed a tick born disease but you should work with your doctor to try and figure that out. Remember too, that many people don't notice the tick bite that causes lyme or rocky mountain spotted fever. The tick bites feeds and falls off, you may never know that you or your child were bit and still come down with the case. So, simply the fact that you are in an area where ticks might live should be enough to raise your concern. So remember, only the deer tick carries lyme but all ticks are capable of carrying some diseases and if you have symptoms after being exposed, you should see your doctor. Talking about which ticks carry lyme disease, I'm Dr. David Hill."