COMMON TICK BORNE ILLNESSES....Differential diagnosis.

Tick borne illnesses are commonly seen in emergency departments.
As we all know, many times the patient has no awareness of being bitten by a tick and can present
with multiple vague complaints, which we'll present on the next posting.

However, most importantly it is always good practice to keep a list of alternate diagnosis
besides LYME'S, when considering this illness in the first place. Most  have very similar presentations and ALL have one thing in common....TICKS.


ALTERNATES TO CONSIDER:



1. BABESIOSIS (due to Babesia Microti).

2. ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER (due to Rickettsia Ricketti).

3. Q FEVER (due to Coxiella Burnetti).

4. TULAREMIA (due to Francisella Tularensis)

5. EHRLICHIOSIS  2 TYPES:
              
            * HUMAN MONOCYTOTROPIC EHRLICHIOSIS (HME)
               ( due to Ehrlichia chaffeensis)

            * HUMAN GRANULOCYTOTROPIC ANAPLASMOSIS (HGA)
               ( due to Anaplasma phagocytophilum)