Nigrovic LE, Neville DN, Balamuth F, Bennett JE, Levas MN, Garro AC; for Pedi Lyme Net. A minority of children diagnosed with Lyme disease recall a preceding tick bite. Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2019 Apr;10(3):694-696. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2019.02.015. Epub 2019 Feb 26. PMID: 30853264.
Out of 1770 children evaluated in the emergency department for Lyme disease, 362 (20.5%) were diagnosed with the condition. Among those with a documented tick bite history, only a small percentage (18.5%, 95% confidence interval 14.6-23.0%) of Lyme disease cases were associated with a recognized tick bite. Therefore, the absence of a tick bite history does not reliably rule out Lyme disease.
Gabriella True
