Buy backpacks, exercise machines, athletic shoes, and more at Fogdog Sports. Prevention Definition Ehrlichiosis is a bacterial infection that is spread by ticks. Symptoms include fever , chills, headache , muscle aches, and tiredness. Description Ehrlichiosis is a tick-borne disease caused by infection with Ehrlichia bacteria.
Ticks are small, blood-sucking arachnids.
Although some ticks carry disease-causing organisms, most do not. When an animal or person is bitten by a tick which carries bacteria, the bacteria are passed to that person or animal during the tick's feeding process. It is believed that the tick must remain attached to the person or animal for at least 24 hours to spread the infection. Monocytic ehrlichiosis is caused by Ehrlichia chaffeensis, which is spread by the Lone Star tick, Amblyomma americanum. As of early 1998, about 400 cases of monocytic ehrlichiosis had been reported in 30 states, primarily in the southeastern and south central United States.