One Hunterdon County study examined 100 ticks collected from different parts of the county. The study, published in the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal in 1998, found 43 of the ticks carried Lyme, while 17 carried ehrlichiosis and five had babesiosis. Ten ticks carried two of the three diseases. N.Y. Experts in New Jersey say the actual number of babesiosis and ehrlichiosis cases is higher here than the number reported to state officials. Just a handful of cases are reported each year.
Some doctors can diagnose a patient without a laboratory test.
Last year, just three cases of babesiosis were reported to the state. Seven cases were reported in 1998, and three in 1997. State health department figures say six ehrlichiosis cases were reported in 1999, four in 1998 and eight in 1997. Andrea Gaito, a rheumatologist from Basking Ridge and president of the International Lyme Society, said 13 percent of her Lyme patients are also infected with babesiosis or ehrlichiosis. She was being treated by a physical therapist who said to her, 'Something's wrong.