What species of ticks can transmit Lyme disease to humans?
The deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the eastern United States and its close relative the Western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus) on the Pacific Coast are the only tick species currently known to transmit the Lyme disease spirochete (a type of bacterium) to humans. Other tick species have been observed to harbor the spirochete but apparently cannot transmit it to their human hosts.
