Hey there
I remember reading something about that. We have different types of ticks or something..a quick google:
Lyme Disease
Lyme Disease was first described in Europe in 1883, the 1970s in North America and 1982 in Australia. It is an illness caused by a spiral bacterium called a spirochaete. The most common name for this spirochaete is Borrelia burgdorferi, but many different Borrelia species cause Lyme Disease worldwide. An Australian spirochaete has not been found in humans yet, and may be quite different from Borrelia burgdorferi. Despite clinical case reports, it is still controversial as to whether Lyme disease can be contracted in Australia. Some doctors and health authorities believe it does, while others are adamant that it does not. Until the controversy is resolved, our advice is that patients with possible Lyme Disease should be treated with an appropriate course of antibiotics because early treatment of Lyme Disease invariably results in a complete cure.
Who and how do we get tested here in Australia?
Do I go to a G.P.?
We certainly have ticks here......
Hey, Doc!
Here's what I found. Basically, the tick that carries Lyme disease (I. persulcatus) live in Australia. The ticks that live in Australia (I. holocyclus) is unable to carry the North American strain of Lyme (B.burgdorferi.) This doesn't mean that there's another version of lyme disease out there with a different spirochete, but Lyme disease as we know it is not able to be carried by the Aussie tick.
Whups! Rewind:
Basically, the tick that carries Lyme disease (I. persulcatus) live in Australia.
That should say: Basically, the tick that carries Lyme disease (I. persulcatus) DOES NOT live in Australia.