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Tickborne Diseases in the United States

Disease

Incidence/Endemic Areas

Vector

Tickborne Illnesses Reported in Missouri and Kansas

Find disease-specific information from the CDC in the hyperlinks below

Find maps of geographic distribution here

Find images of tick species here

Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Other Spotted Fever Rickettsioses

(Rickettsia parkeri rickettsiosis, Pacific Coast tick fever, Rickettsial pox)

States with the highest incidence include: North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Arizona, and New Mexico

  • Wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni)

  • American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

  • Brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus)

Ehrlichiosis

Southeastern states and Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas

  • Lone Star tick (Ambyomma americanum)

  • Blacklegged/deer tick (Ixodes scapularis)

  • American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

Tularemia

Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, and Kansas

  • Lone Star tick (Ambyomma americanum)

  • Wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni)

  • American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis)

Lyme disease

Northeastern and upper Midwestern United States, into Canada, and northern California

  • Blacklegged/deer tick (Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes pacificus)

Tickborne Illnesses Reported in Other States

Anaplasmosis

Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast

  • Blacklegged/deer tick (Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes pacificus)

Babesiosis

Northeast, upper Midwest, some cases have been reported in Washington and California

  • Blacklegged/deer tick (Ixodes scapularis or Ixodes pacificus)

Colorado Tick Fever

Rocky Mountain region

  • Wood tick (Dermacentor andersoni)

Tickborne Relapsing Fever

 

Rocky Mountain region

 

  • Ticks of Ornithodoros genus

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). About ticks and tickborne disease. https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/about/index.html



Pace, E. J., & O'Reilly, M. (2020). Tickborne diseases: Diagnosis and management. American Family Physician, 101(9), 530-540. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2020/0501/p530.html

These pathways do not establish a standard of care to be followed in every case. It is recognized that each case is different, and those individuals involved in providing health care are expected to use their judgment in determining what is in the best interests of the patient based on the circumstances existing at the time. It is impossible to anticipate all possible situations that may exist and to prepare a pathway for each. Accordingly, these pathways should guide care with the understanding that departures from them may be required at times.

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