As well as transmitting Lyme disease to people, when ticks bit you they often also transmit other diseases which are referred to as co-infections. Co-infections exacerbate Lyme disease symptoms as well as exhibit symptoms of their own. Concurrent infections frequently occur.
Most people who have Lyme disease tend to suffer from one or more co-infections as well. Ticks carry several other infectious micro-organisms in addition to the Borrelia bacteria that cause Lyme disease. These co-infections include Babesia, Bartonella, Rickettsia, Ehrlichia, Mycoplasma and HGA.
Co-infections are relatively common when you have Lyme disease. A recently published Lyme disease organisation surveyed over 3,000 patients with chronic Lyme disease and found that over 50% had at least one coinfections and 30% of those people had two or more coinfections. The most common coinfections were Babesia (32%), Bartonella (28%), Ehrlichia (15%), Mycoplasma (15%), Rocky Mountain Spotted-Fever (6%), Anaplasma (5%), and Tularemia (1%).
Co-infections complicate both the diagnoses and the treatment of Lyme disease. The organisms which cause co-infections cause their own set of symptoms and some like Rocky Mountain Spotted-Fever cause primary symptoms and others such as some Mycoplasma species are opportunistic pathogens which wait until the immune system is damaged by Lyme disease before they are able to establish themselves and cause symptoms.
However, the importance of identifying and treating polymicrobial infections is critical in getting a patient well. Many of the organisms causing the co-infections require alternative antibiotics to cure them. The existence of these co-infections may explain why some people with Lyme disease remain chronically ill even after treatment. Doctors should consider co-infections in the diagnosis when a patient’s symptoms are severe, persistent, and resistant to antibiotic therapy.
Babesia
Babebiosis is a parasitic infection, a protozoa belonging to the genus Babesia, which affects the red blood cells similar to a malarial parasite. It is transmitted through the bite of a deer tick. People who contract Babebiosis suffer from malaria-like symptoms. As a result, malaria is a common misdiagnosis for the disease.
Bartonella
Bartonella are bacteria which cause a disease known as bartonellosis. Bartonellosis is usually a mild, acute, and self-limiting illness. Early signs of bartonellosis include fever, fatigue, headache, poor appetite, and an unusual streaked rash that resembles stretch marks during pregnancy. ( see picture) Swollen glands are typical, especially around the head, neck and arms and many have neurological symptoms including psychiatric manifestations.
Rickettsia
Rickettsia are very small intra-cellular bacteria which require a host cell in order to survive. Rickettsia species are carried by many vectors such as chiggers, lice, fleas and ticks. They cause a wide variety of diseases in humans, including typhus fever, rickettsial-pox, Boutonneuse fever, African tick bite fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Flinders Island spotted fever and Queensland tick fever. Several different species of Rickettsia have been identified as causing infection. Rickettsial infections are classified into three groups, Spotted fever; Typhus; and Scrub typhus (Now reclassified as a new genus – Orientia)
Ehrlichia
Ehrlichia are small, gram-negative bacteria. The two known primary agents of human Ehrlichiosis are Ehrlichia chaffeensis which typically invades mononuclear phagocytes, such as monocytes and macrophages, causing Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis (HME); and Ehrlichia ewingii which invade neutrophils causing Human Ewingii Ehrlichiosis (HEE)
Typically Ehrlichiosis strikes older people probably due to immunological host factors but severe and even fatal cases have also been reported in children and young adults. Most patients develop symptoms 1-2 weeks after the tick bite, and over 70% will have fever, chills, severe headache and myalgia. Less common symptoms include nausea and vomiting, as well as confusion. A rash can also occur. As with many other tick-borne diseases, the symptoms are largely non-specific, thus confounding diagnosis.
Mycoplasma
Mycoplasma are very small intra-cellular bacteria which lack a cell wall and has to live within a host cell in order to replicate. The type species, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes atypical pneumonia. In one study, as many as seventy five percent of Lyme patients also have a Mycoplasma infection, which suggests that Mycoplasma is the number one cause of co-infections with Lyme disease, surpassing Bartonella and Babesia.
Like other tick borne infections the symptoms can vary and include night sweats, fibromyalgia, fatigue, headaches, fevers, memory loss, skin rashes, diarrhea, abdominal bloating, depression, and bronchitis as well as serious neurological manifestations.
Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis (HGA)
HGA is a tick-associated disease caused by a species of bacteria called Anaplasma phagocytophilum which affect the white blood cells specifically the neutrophils.
The clinical course of HGA varies widely, ranging from asymptomatic infection to fatal disease. The most common symptoms are headache, fever, chills, muscle pain and fatigue similar to the symptoms of influenza. The person has a low white cell count and a low platelet count. Gastrointestinal symptoms are seen in less than 50% of the patients and a skin rash is noticed in only about 10% of the patients.
Chronic Viral Infections and Opportunistic Pathogens
Whilst not transmitted by ticks, chronic viral infections such as herpes, HHV-6, CMV, and EBV, may become active in the chronic patient, due to their weakened immune response.
Opportunistic pathogens may also become infective if a person has a weakened immune system. An opportunistic pathogen is a microbe which would not normally cause an infection but can do so if conditions in the body become favourable for it to invade.
Chronic Yeast Infections
Because patients with chronic Lyme disease have weakened defences, and are taking long term antibiotics which wipes out their normal flora they are prone to develop an overgrowth of yeast usually Candida albicans. This often begins in the mouth or vagina, and then spreads to the intestinal tract..
To find out more read my book "What is Lyme Disease?" You can currently borrow it from Amazon.
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