Ixodidae (hard ticks)

Includes dog ticks & deer ticks. Pathology: 1) ticks attach & feed painlessly 2) blood is their only food 3) secretions produce local reactions, febrile illness or paralysis Clinical manifestations: 1) local reactions vary a) small pruritic papules b) chronic nodules (tick granulomas) reaching several centimeters in diameter 2) tick-induced fever a) headache b) nausea c) malaise d) generally resolves within 24-36 hours after tick is removed 3) tick paralysis -> ascending flaccid paralysis

Related

tick fever tick paralysis

Specific

Amblyomma Dermacentor Haemaphysalis Ixodes Rhipicephalus

Properties

KINGDOM: animal PHYLUM: arthropod ORGANISM-CLASS: arachnid

References

Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 13th ed. Isselbacher et al (eds), McGraw-Hill Inc. NY, 1994, pg 935