An adult lone star tick is about the size of a watermelon seed. Lyme disease, which is the most frequently diagnosed tick-borne problem in the country, is a bacterial infection that can cause skin, joint, heart and nervous system problems. Named after the town of Lyme in Connecticut where it was first described in 1976, the disease usually begins with flu-like symptoms such as fatigue, headache, fever, stiff neck and joint pain. Occasionally there may be skin lesions or rashes, usually around the site of the tick bite. People usually are infected April through June, months when the lone star tick is most active.
Treatment is with antibiotics.
Untreated, Lyme disease may result in severe damage to joints, the heart and nervous system. In Texas, more than 1,680 possible cases of Lyme disease have been reported since 1990. Of those, just over 580 cases met the case definition for Lyme disease. Both Rocky Mountain spotted fever and human ehrlichiosis, other diseases carried by ticks, can be fatal if not treated quickly. Symptoms resemble flu with high fever, headaches and muscle aches.