5 types of tick-borne diseases and the symptoms to look out for, from blue rash to fever and chills

• People are most susceptible to tick-borne infections during the summer, when they spend time outdoors.

• Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease, but other tick-borne diseases are on the rise.

• If you have symptoms after getting a tick bite, you should see your doctor.

Each year as temperatures warm up, ticks re-emerge with a hankering for blood.

When ticks burrow into prey, they can feast for days, allowing ample time for diseases to be passed from tick to human. They can also transmit more than one disease at a time.

Due in part to climate change, tick-borne diseases are on the rise, with a 25% increase in cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2001 to 2019.

Ticks can't fly or jump; rather, they crawl up and onto their prey. Ticks often cling to grasses or shrubs (but not trees) and scurry onto you as you brush past them.

Here are the most common tick-borne diseases, and the symptoms to watch out for:

Lyme disease can trigger a bull's-eye rash

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States, according to the CDC. Approximately 470,000 people get Lyme disease in the United States each year, and it is thought to affect nearly 15% of the global population.

Lyme disease is spread by the blacklegged tick, also known as the deer tick. Many people who get Lyme disease develop a red or blue rash that spreads out two or more inches. Only 20% of people get the well-known bull's-eye rash.

Other symptoms of Lyme disease include fever, severe fatigue, headache, muscle and joint aches, and swollen lymph nodes.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever can leave a splotchy red rash

Cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever have steadily risen over the last two decades in the United States, from 495 cases in 2000 up to 5,709 in 2019. Roughly 60% of cases are reported in North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and parts of Arizona.

RMSF is spread by a few different ticks, including the Rocky Mountain wood tick, American dog tick, and the brown dog tick.

Apart from a splotchy red rash, other early symptoms of infection include a headache, fever, and gastrointestinal issues.

Anaplasmosis is not associated with a rash, but can cause flu-like symptoms

Anaplasmosis cases have been increasing in the United States, from just 348 in 2000 to 5,655 cases in 2017. It is most commonly reported in the Northeast and upper Midwest.

Anaplasmosis is transmitted by the blacklegged tick — also called the deer tick — as well as the western blacklegged tick.

Symptoms of anaplasmosis typically begin one to two weeks after a tick bite and include fever, chills, severe headache, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite.

Babesiosis can cause flu-like symptoms

There are typically between one to two thousand cases of babesiosis each year in the United States.

Some people who contract babesiosis don't develop any symptoms, and won't need treatment. But others develop symptoms like fever, muscle or joint pain, nausea and headache,  according to the CDC.

Southern tick-associated rash Illness can cause a rash similar to Lyme disease

Bites from the lone star tick have been increasingly tied to alpha-gal syndrome, also known as the "red meat" allergy. But lone star ticks can also transmit an infection known as the Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI).

The most notable symptom of STARI is a rash, which resembles the Lyme disease bull's-eye. A STARI rash usually develops after six days.

STARI patients are less likely to have multiple rash spots, and the size of their spots is smaller than those seen in Lyme disease.

Patients with STARI may also experience fatigue, headache, fever and muscle pains. Since STARI is often misdiagnosed as Lyme disease, it is unclear how many cases occur each year.

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