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

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.

Keywords

• tick-borne disease
• pregnancy
• Lyme disease
• tick-borne relapsing fever
• anaplasmosis
• Rocky Mountain spotted fever