This tick can also transmit Ehrlichia chaffeensis, the bacteria that causes human monocytic ehrlichiosis (HME).
Laboratory tests may reveal thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, and evidence of liver damage.
[citation needed] Humans contract the disease after a bite by an infected tick of the species Amblyomma americanum.
[citation needed] Those with an underlying immunodeficiency (such as HIV) appear to be at greater risk of contracting the disease.
[3] Like Anaplasma phagocytophilum, the causative agent of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis, Ehrlichia ewingii infects neutrophils.