A new infectious disease has been described, having caused documented illnesses in Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia (Pediatric News. 33(7):12, 1999). This disease, transmitted via bites from the Lone Star tick, causes a rash and sometimes a mild fever – hence its catchy name, “Southern tick-associated erythema migrans-like illness.”
It is probably caused by bacteria since it is so responsive to common antibiotics, although no treatment may prove necessary. Even though the rash looks just like the rash of Lyme disease, this mild illness appears to cause no long-term complications.