Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness

A 65-year-old man presented with a 1-day history of an itchy rash on his left hip after removing a lone star tick. Clinical examination revealed a bull’s-eye–like plaque, leading to a diagnosis of Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI). Though the causative agent is unknown and no diagnostic test exists, STARI resembles Lyme disease and is managed with supportive care or empiric antibiotics in co-endemic regions. The article highlights how the northward expansion of the lone star tick due to climate change poses growing clinical challenges. The patient’s rash resolved with topical glucocorticoids.

A 65-year-old man presented with a 1-day history of an itchy rash on his left hip after removing a lone star tick. Clinical examination revealed a bull’s-eye–like plaque, leading to a diagnosis of Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness (STARI). Though the causative agent is unknown and no diagnostic test exists, STARI resembles Lyme disease and is managed with supportive care or empiric antibiotics in co-endemic regions. The article highlights how the northward expansion of the lone star tick due to climate change poses growing clinical challenges. The patient’s rash resolved with topical glucocorticoids.