One very unlucky 70-year-old man contracted not one, not two, but three separate illnesses as a result of a single tick bite. His situation is so rare that researchers wrote a study about his case.

The paper, titled “One Man, Three Tick-Borne Illnesses” was published in April by BMJ Case Reports. The paper begins with the unidentified patient coming to an emergency department with “fevers, ankle edema and nausea following a presumed insect bite on his ankle one month prior.”

Lab studies showed the man to be anemic. He also had an acute kidney injury and a low blood platelet count. Based on his recent travels in the Northeastern US, doctors believe ticks are to blame.

Bloodwork confirmed that the man had Lyme disease as well as the “rare, sometimes severe” disease babesiosis and the tick-borne disease anaplasmosis.

“While co-infection with Lyme disease is common, infection with three tick-borne illnesses at one time is relatively rare,” the three researchers — all of whom are associated with Providence Health & Services hospital in Portland, Oregon — wrote.

One thing that is lucky for the man – all three infections are treatable with antibiotics. After taking three different prescriptions, the man’s symptoms resolved.

Unfortunately, ticks carrying not just Lyme disease but multiple diseases have been reported to be on the rise recently.

“Most people think of Lyme disease when they think of [tick-borne illnesses], and that’s justified, but in Suffolk County alone, ticks can carry four other pathogens.”