TICK PARALYSIS

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Abstract
The authors have collected a series of recorded instances in which attachment of certain spp. of Ixodid ticks to the human body is associated with a progressive flaccid paralysis sometimes progressing to the respiratory center with consequent death. A similar syndrome is known to occur in sheep and dogs and possibly other animals. The cause of the paralysis is obscure. A striking feature is the rapid subsidence of signs and symptoms following removal of the tick, which suggests a toxin rather than an infection of the host. Human cases have been reported from S. Africa, Australia and N. America. The paralysis has been associated with removal of Dermacentor andersoni, D. variabilis and Izodes holocyclus, and several other spp. have been presumptively incriminated.