Diseases

 Tick-borne Illnesses

Last Updated: October 11, 2024
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Ticks are generally found in grassy, brushy, and wooded areas, and many diseases carried by ticks are found in the U.S., though variants can be found elsewhere in the world. Ticks are most active from April to September in the U.S.

While the CDCExternal Link has indicated that Lyme is the most commonly reported tick-borne disease in the U.S., other common tick-borne diseases in the U.S. include:


These tick-transmitted conditions are military reportable medical events (RMEs) that must be reported if diagnosed at a military treatment facility. 

The most commonly reported tick-borne illness in the military health system​External Link is Lyme disease, followed by RMSF. 

Other diseases that may result from a tick bite but are not routinely tracked by health surveillance and have shown to be occurring in the military family include the following: ​

​ Tick-bite prevention​

As with other vector-borne diseases, knowing the conditions of high risk (time of year, location, and habitat of the ticks) is a key prevention step. The CDC offers tips to preventing tick bites (avoidance, insect repellent, tick checks, yard management). 

If you remove a tick from your body –

  • Eligible Department of Defense personnel and dependents in the continental U.S. (CONUS) can submit the tick to MilTICK through tick kits available at DoD health care facilities, or by individuals through a simple mail-in process. The MilTIK program will test ticks for the presence of various disease-causing microorganisms. This information can be useful to determine your treatment as well as identify trends in locations of hazardous ticks. 
  • If not submitted to MilTICK, it is suggested you keep the tick for 30 days, in case you develop symptoms. This is because knowing the species of tick may assist your clinician in determining if and which infectious disease you are afflicted with. 
  • Watch for symptoms of potential disease in the days and weeks after exposure and notify medical providers of the past tick exposure. 
  • Many tick-borne illnesses can be successfully treated with a course of the antibiotic doxycycline if treated early enough and the full dose and duration prescribed by a physician is completed. ​​