A rash may develop in some cases but is not a reliable sign. Neurologic involvement occurs less often and includes altered sensorium and numbness of extremities. Left untreated, the primary fever breaks in 3 to 6 days with drenching sweats followed by an afebrile period of about 8 days. Three to five releapses typically occur without treatment. Each succeeding relapse is less severe.
Death is rare and limited mainly to infants and the elderly.
Just as your body fights off one invader it pops up as another closely related threat. Here we have a tick that can go years between blood meals, feeds for a short time at night with a painless bite and can transmit an organism that plays a game of hide a seek with your immune system. Diagnosis can be made by observing the organism in a drop of blood under a microscope. This does not always show the organism. Other blood tests may be helpful but lack laboratory standardization.