When someone is diagnosed with Lyme disease, the conversation often focuses on the bacteria transmitted by an infected tick. But ticks can carry and transmit more than one type of infection. In some cases, a person exposed to a Lyme-carrying tick may also be exposed to other microorganisms at the same time. These additional infections are commonly referred to as Lyme disease co-infections.
Understanding Lyme disease co-infections can be an important part of looking at the bigger picture of tick-borne illness. Co-infections may produce symptoms that overlap with Lyme disease, making it difficult to determine which infections may be contributing to how someone feels.
What Are Lyme Disease Co-Infections?
A co-infection occurs when a person has more than one infection at the same time. With tick-borne illness, this can happen when a single tick carries multiple disease-causing organisms and transmits them during a bite.
Lyme disease is primarily associated with Borrelia burgdorferi and related bacteria. However, ticks may also transmit other organisms, including those associated with Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Babesiosis, and Borrelia miyamotoi infection.
Because these infections can have overlapping symptoms, identifying the possibility of a co-infection may be an important consideration when symptoms persist or do not follow an expected pattern.
Common Lyme Disease Co-Infections
Several infections are commonly discussed alongside Lyme disease.
Babesiosis
Babesiosis is caused by microscopic parasites that infect red blood cells. It is transmitted primarily through certain species of ticks.
Symptoms can include fever, chills, fatigue, weakness, headache, and body aches. In some cases, babesiosis can cause hemolytic anemia and may become more serious, particularly in people with certain underlying health conditions.
Anaplasmosis
Anaplasmosis is a bacterial infection transmitted by certain ticks, including the blacklegged tick that can also transmit Lyme disease.
Symptoms may include fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea, and other flu-like symptoms. Symptoms can overlap significantly with other tick-borne infections.
Ehrlichiosis
Ehrlichiosis is another bacterial infection transmitted by ticks. It may cause fever, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, and gastrointestinal symptoms.
Because its symptoms can resemble Lyme disease and other infections, a broader evaluation may be appropriate when a tick exposure is known or suspected.
Borrelia miyamotoi
Borrelia miyamotoi is a bacteria transmitted by some of the same ticks that transmit Lyme disease. It is associated with a condition known as hard tick relapsing fever.
Symptoms can include recurring fever, chills, headache, fatigue, and muscle aches. The infection may be particularly difficult to recognize because many of its symptoms overlap with other tick-borne illnesses.
Why Can Co-Infections Be Difficult to Recognize?
One of the biggest challenges with tick-borne illnesses is that symptoms are not always specific to a single infection.
For example, fatigue, headaches, muscle aches, fever, chills, and changes in energy can occur with multiple tick-borne diseases. A person may therefore have symptoms that do not immediately point to one particular infection.
Additionally, not everyone remembers being bitten by a tick. Tick bites can be painless, and the tick may be small enough that the exposure goes unnoticed.
This is why a history of potential tick exposure, geographic location, symptoms, timing, and appropriate medical testing may all be relevant when evaluating possible tick-borne illness.
Lyme Disease and Co-Infections Can Overlap
Having Lyme disease and another tick-borne infection at the same time can make the overall clinical picture more complicated. Symptoms may overlap, change over time, or vary from person to person.
This does not mean that every persistent symptom is caused by a Lyme disease co-infection. Instead, it highlights why persistent or unexplained symptoms deserve thoughtful evaluation rather than assumptions about a single cause.
A healthcare professional can help determine whether additional testing or evaluation for other tick-borne infections may be appropriate.
What Should You Do If You Suspect a Co-Infection?
If you have experienced a known or possible tick exposure and are experiencing persistent or unexplained symptoms, talk with a qualified healthcare professional.
Keep track of symptoms, when they started, potential tick exposures, travel or outdoor activities, and any previous testing or treatment. This information can help provide important context during an evaluation.
At Functional Healing with Dr. Tara, understanding the full picture of a person’s health is an important part of the conversation around complex health concerns. If you are concerned about Lyme disease, a possible co-infection, or ongoing symptoms following a tick exposure, seeking an individualized evaluation can be an important next step.
Don’t ignore persistent symptoms after a possible tick exposure. Understanding Lyme disease and its potential co-infections can help you have a more informed conversation with your healthcare provider.
