Quick quiz: Tick-transmitted disease – Can you make the diagnosis?

Ticks are creepy little bloodsucking vectors of pathogens. When patients come in with clinical signs of these diseases are you on your diagnosis “A-game?” Test your knowledge by reading through the clinical signs listed below and choosing the disease you think is the culprit. Then click to the next page and see if you're correct.

The deer or black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis) pictured above is a common carrier of the pathogen that can cause these clinical signs:

Answer choices:

A. Babesiosis

B. Ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis

C. Lyme disease

D. Rocky Mountain spotted fever

If you chose Lyme disease, you are correct! Good job.

The American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) , pictured here, is the most common carrier of the disease that can cause these clinical signs:

> Thrombocytopenia

> Leukocytosis

> Fever

> Lethargy

> Anorexia

> Pain

> Petechia

> Jaundice

> Neurologic signs

Answer choices:

A. Babesiosis

B. Ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis

C. Lyme disease

D. Rocky Mountain spotted fever

If you chose Rocky Mountain spotted fever, that is the right answer!

The brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) often carries the pathogen that can cause these signs:

> Thrombocytopenia and anemia

> Fever

> Lymphadenopathy

> Splenomegaly

> Pigmenturia

> Jaundice

Answer choices:

A. Babesiosis

B. Ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis

C. Lyme disease

D. Rocky Mountain spotted fever

If you chose babesiosis, that is correct!

The brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), already mentioned previously, also transmits the pathogen that can cause the following clinical signs:

> Thrombocytopenia

> Pancytopenia

> Fever

> Lethargy

> Anorexia

> Weight loss and vomiting

> Epistaxis, petechia or ecchymosis also may be present

> Hyperglobulinemia

> Hypoalbuminemia

> Lymphadenopathy

>Proteinuria

> Polyarthritis

> Uveitis

Answer choices:

A. Babesiosis

B. Ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis

C. Lyme disease

D. Rocky Mountain spotted fever

If you chose ehrlichiosis/anaplasmosis, great job. That is the correct answer. You are a tick-transmitted disease genius.

Information sourced here, here and here.