The Dangers of Tick Bites

Lyme Disease, Babesiosis, and Powassan Virus

Deer Ticks are popular across Long Island and can carry a lot of diseases that affect humans, such as Babesiosis, which is most prevalent in New York, New Jersey, and across the upper Midwest and Northeast.

Similar to malaria, Babesiosis is caused by microscopic protozoa called Babesia. Two types of ticks, deer ticks and blacklegged ticks, can carry Babesia parasites. Babesiosis carrying ticks like to be around wet areas such as lakes, wetlands, beaches, and landscapes near these areas (like on Long Island).

The nymph stage of deer ticks is very small (about the size of a poppy seed) and is when they are most frequently responsible for transmitting the babesiosis parasite. During this nymph stage the ticks are usually found hiding under grass, wood undergrowth, and brush.

Peak months of infection from Babesiosis are June through August. Some people will contract the disease and never know they even have it, some cases are very mild, but some very severe—depending on the immune system and age of the patient. Like many diseases affecting the immune system, children and elderly persons are at highest risk for complications.

Many ticks infected with babesiosis also carry Lyme’s Disease, so identification and treatment is often difficult due to both diseases’ presence. Doctors can detect babesiosis from patterns in your blood tests as the disease affects the red blood cells. Since there is no blood test to determine the presence in particular of this disease it can be passed from donated blood as well.

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