Introduction to tick bite illness

Ticks are widespread in Australia. The scrub (paralysis) tick, Ixodes holocyclus, causes 95% of tick bites in Australia. It is found along the whole eastern seaboard, generally up to 30 km inland, although it can occur in pockets up to 100 km inland—see the Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy website for a distribution map. Ticks can cause persistent local reactions (persistent arthropod reaction), systemic allergic effects, neurotoxic effects from venom, and transmission of rickettsial and Coxiella infections.

For information on prevention of tick bites, see Prevention of bites, stings and rashes in the wilderness.