Ticks are blood sucking parasites and second only to mosquitos when it comes to transmitting diseases to humans. But when that bite happens, along with the potential risk of infection and serious illness, you may not even feel it.

These spider-like arachnids, with eight legs and a body no bigger than an apple seed, can secrete an anti-inflammatory substance to disguise its feeding. This allows a host of disease-causing pathogens that may have infected the tick beforehand to freeload a ride into your bloodstream.

The most well-known of these freeloaders is the spiral-shaped bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi which causes Borreliosis or Lyme disease. It is named after the town of Lyme in Connecticut in the United States, where it was first identified in 1975 after both children and adults began reporting symptoms similar to arthritis.

Lyme, however, is a disease with many more symptoms, and these can get more varied if treatment is not prompt. "It's a type of bacteria that penetrates every tissue in the body," says Jack Lambert, a consultant in infectious diseases, professor of medicine at University College Dublin and founder of the Lyme Resource Centre.