ST. LOUIS (AP) -- A St. Louis-area man has died of a tick-borne disease, the first death related to ticks this year in Missouri.

Laboratory analysis showed the unnamed man was infected with a bacteria that causes ehrlichiosis (er-lihk-ee-OH'-sis), a disease similar to Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

The disease can cause symptoms ranging from those similar to the flu to renal failure and difficulty breathing.

The man's family says he found an attached tick after a fishing trip in northeast Missouri. He was hospitalized and given antibiotics, but his condition deteriorated rapidly.

The case was one of nine cases of tick-borne diseases reported recently to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.