Anaplasma Co-infections

In addition to A. phagocytophilum, the blacklegged tick also transmits several other pathogens in certain geographic areas, including:

• Borrelia burgdorferi (the causative agent of Lyme disease),
• Babesia microti (the primary cause of human babesiosis),
• Borrelia mayonii (a newly discovered cause of borreliosis),
• Borrelia miyamotoi (a cause of tickborne relapsing fever)
• Powassan virus (cause of Powassan virus disease), and
• Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis

Risk of coinfection

• Anaplasma coinfection with non-rickettsial pathogens has been reported in <10% of patients.
• Rash is rarely reported (<10% of cases) in patients with anaplasmosis. The presence of a rash might indicate that the patient has a coinfection with Lyme disease, or another tickborne disease.

For more in-depth information about signs and symptoms of anaplasmosis, see: Diagnosis and Management of Tickborne Rickettsial Diseases: Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Other Spotted Fever Group Rickettsioses, Ehrlichioses, and Anaplasmosis — United States: A Practical Guide for Health Care and Public Health Professionals (2016) pdf icon[PDF – 48 pages]