Tick-Borne Diseases

Course overview

The various types of ticks across the United States have the potential to cause several diseases. Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease and the sixth most common notifiable infectious disease in the U.S. The incidence of tick-borne diseases more than doubled between 2004 and 2016. Many of these diseases have similar non-specific symptoms, and misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis is common. While prevention is the best approach to these diseases, they still occur with alarming frequency. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who know how to identify the different tick-borne diseases and can differentiate them can help patients and the healthcare team find diagnoses and treat them appropriately. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and numerous professional organizations have developed guidelines for prophylaxis and treatment of tick-borne diseases. For most (but not all) tick-borne diseases, doxycycline is the drug of choice for treatment.