Southern Tick-Associated Rash Illness: Florida's Lyme Disease Variant

Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI) is an emerging zoonotic disease causing an annular rash with central clearing that is almost identical to erythema migrans seen in Lyme disease. It is spread by Amblyomma americanum tick bite. Although it is still debatable, this zoonotic disease is thought to be caused by Borrelia lonestari spirochete. At this time, there is no approved diagnostic modality nor approved treatment for such an illness. Here we describe a rare case of STARI in a 63-year-old female and shed light on the differences between STARI and Lyme disease.