Partially fed ticks who then re-attach to a new host can transmit Lyme disease within 24 hours 83% of the time according to study.

Lyme borreliosis: a review of data on transmission time after tick attachment

“It was also found that partially fed ticks would efficiently re-attach to a new host, and in these new hosts transmission occurred in 83% of cases within 24 hours. The implication of shorter transmission times in the second host shortly after partial feeding in the first host has relevance to human infection, since partial feeding behavior in ticks has been observed in the natural environment and could occur within a domestic setting of companion animal ownership.”

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