Lyme [borreliosis] Helps Spread Other Tick Infections

December 31, 2014  By Christopher Intagliata – Scientific American

Mice infected with Lyme and the Babesia parasite are more likely to pass on babesiosis than mice infected with babesiosis alone. Christopher Intagliata reports

Lyme disease may be the most well known illness spread by ticks. But it’s far from the only one. The most common vector for Lyme is the deer tick, and it spreads five other known pathogens. One of those pathogens is what’s called the Babesia parasite. It infects red blood cells, like malaria, causing the sometimes-fatal disease babesiosis.

Read full article