Tick-Borne Diseases and Pregnancy: A Narrative Review Evaluating Pregnancy Complications Caused by Tick-Borne Diseases.

Authors

Michael W Curtis
Job E Lopez

Publication Date

10-24-2024

Journal

Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease

DOI

10.3390/tropicalmed9110254

PMID

39591260

PMCID

PMC11598240

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

10-24-2024

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

tick-borne disease, pregnancy, Lyme disease, tick-borne relapsing fever, anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick-borne encephalitis, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, babesiosis

Abstract

Ticks are vectors of public health concern because the pathogens they transmit can cause detrimental diseases in humans. Lyme disease, tick-borne relapsing fever, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick-borne encephalitis, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and babesiosis are some of the most common diseases caused by the pathogens transmitted by ticks. The overlap between human activities and tick habitats is growing, contributing to an increase in tick-borne disease cases. Unfortunately, pregnancy as a risk factor for tick-borne diseases is largely ignored. In this narrative review we use case reports, epidemiological studies, and animal studies to evaluate the maternal, pregnancy, and fetal outcomes caused by Lyme disease, tick-borne relapsing fever, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tick-borne encephalitis, Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, and babesiosis during pregnancy.