DATE: April 24, 2019
TIME: 9:30am PDT

Ticks are currently considered to be second only to mosquitoes as vectors of human infectious diseases in the world.  Each tick species has preferred environmental conditions and habitat that determine the geographic distribution of the ticks and, consequently, the risk areas for tick-borne diseases. Tick-borne diseases are becoming more frequently diagnosed as the cause of human infections as animal reservoirs and tick vectors have increased in numbers and humans have inhabited areas where reservoir and tick populations are high.

Ticks may become infected and harbor one or more disease-causing agents (e.g. bacteria, viruses, or parasites) and co-infection can also occur, compounding the difficulty in diagnosis and treatment. Co-infections often prove to cause worse symptoms than a single infection alone. In most cases, patients present severe atypical clinical manifestations, wider range of secondary symptoms, and longer recovery. Co-infections can be challenging to diagnose, as clinical features of tick-borne diseases often overlap. Identifying and treating polymicrobial infections are critical as morbidity and mortality increases substantially if there are delays in diagnosis and treatment.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the general background of tick-borne diseases.

• Understand the benefits and limitations of various diagnostic methods for tick-borne diseases.

• Discuss the implications of tick-borne infections and manifestations.

LabRoots is approved as a provider of continuing education programs in the clinical laboratory sciences by the ASCLS P.A.C.E. ® Program. By attending this webinar, you can earn 1 Continuing Education credit once you have viewed the webinar in its entirety.