Tick-Borne & Mosquito-Borne Infections
These infections travel by bite. Ticks and mosquitoes inject the pathogen directly past your skin's defenses, which is why a creature smaller than a sesame seed can transmit diseases that change a life. Prevention — repellent, tick checks, drained standing water — is worth more here than in any other group.
- Lyme Disease — The deer-tick spirochete: bull's-eye rash, and the chronic-symptoms debate
- Anaplasmosis — A tick-borne bacterium that attacks white blood cells
- Babesiosis — A malaria-like red-cell parasite from the same ticks as Lyme
- Ehrlichiosis — The lone-star tick's flu-like bacterial illness
- Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever — The most dangerous U.S. tick disease; hours matter
- Colorado Tick Fever — A biphasic mountain-west viral fever
- Powassan Virus — The rare tick virus transmitted in minutes, not hours
- Tick-Borne Encephalitis — The European and Asian tick brain infection
- Tularemia — "Rabbit fever" from ticks, animals, and even lawnmowers
- Malaria — The mosquito-borne parasite that has shaped human history
- Dengue Fever — "Breakbone fever," and why a second infection is worse than the first
- Chikungunya — The mosquito virus named for its bent-over joint pain
- West Nile Virus — The most common U.S. mosquito-borne disease
- Yellow Fever — The jaundice-and-fever virus with a century-old vaccine
- Zika Virus — Mild for adults, a serious threat to a developing fetus
- Leishmaniasis — The sandfly parasite behind non-healing skin sores
- Chagas Disease — The kissing-bug parasite that can quietly damage the heart for decades
Connections
- Infections — The section hub with all sub-pages
- Diseases — The full conditions library, organized by medical specialty
- Bacteria Hub — All 36 bacterial pathogen profiles
- Parasites Hub — All 35 parasite profiles
- Infectious Disease Index — The A–Z illness listing
- Gut Health — The friendly side of the bacterial world
- Herbs — Including the antimicrobial and immune-supporting herbs
- Biology — All 137 interactive animations
- Lab Tests — The tests used to diagnose infection
- Health News — Including outbreak coverage