Lyme disease is a bacterial infection resulting from the bite of an infected tick. The most common type of tick that carries the bacteria is the tiny deer tick, or black–legged tick, which is about the size of a poppy seed. Lyme disease can also be spread by the lone star tick.
A tick picks up the Lyme disease bacteria, called Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi), when it bites an animal that is infected with it (sometimes, lyme disease is referred to as lyme borreliosis). These bacteria are classified as spirochetes because of their spiral shape. Infectious lyme spirochetes, (not tics), are found in human breast milk, tears, urine and semen and can be found in mosquitos, mites, fleas and biting flies; so though tics may be the most common means of lyme disease transmission, there may be other mechanisms that transport the disease about which we may not yet know much.1
When an infected tick attaches to you and maintains contact with your blood, the bacteria can travel from the tick’s gut to your bloodstream. Once the bacteria enter the bloodstream, they can move to different parts of the body. Though considered to be a bacterial infection, the borrelia spirochete (and all spirochetes for that matter) are very similar in characteristics to parasites. Common sites of infection include the skin, joints, muscles, nerve tissue, and distant skin sites. Ticks are most likely to transfer the infection to you after being in contact with your blood for two or more days.
Though symptoms originate from a bacterial infection, many people continue to feel the symptoms of lyme disease even after the infection might be gone - this is a bit of a quandary. Antibiotics are the commonly touted treatment for lyme disease, and though a course of this medication can be extremely effective at treating the symptoms for many patients, for many, bacteria continue to live in the host's system despite antibiotic treatment.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 23,444 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2010. However, many people believe there are more people infected than these statistics would indicate.1 The disease is concentrated in certain parts of the country where both the ticks that carry the Lyme bacteria and the mice, deer, and chipmunks that the ticks live on are common. Although Lyme disease is most frequently associated with the Northeast United States, it has been reported in nearly all states.
What are the risk factors for Lyme disease?
What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?
How is Lyme disease diagnosed?
What are the treatments for Lyme disease?
Are there screening tests for Lyme disease?
How can I reduce my risk of Lyme disease?
[ Lyme disease]12] is a bacterial infection resulting from the bite of an infected [tick. The most common type of tick that carries the bacteria is the tiny deer tick, or black–legged tick, which is about the size of a poppy seed. Lyme disease can also be spread by the lone star tick.
A tick picks up the Lyme disease bacteria, called Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi), when it bites an animal that is infected with it (sometimes, lyme disease is referred to as lyme borreliosis). These bacteria are classified as spirochetes because of their spiral shape. Infectious lyme spirochetes, (not tics), are found in human breast milk, tears, urine and semen and can be found in mosquitos, mites, fleas and biting flies; so though tics may be the most common means of lyme disease transmission, there may be other mechanisms that transport the disease about which we may not yet know much.1
When an infected tick attaches to you and maintains contact with your blood, the bacteria can travel from the tick’s gut to your bloodstream. Once the bacteria enter the bloodstream, they can move to different parts of the body. Though considered to be a bacterial infection, the borrelia spirochete (and all spirochetes for that matter) are very similar in characteristics to parasites. Common sites of infection include the skin, joints, muscles, nerve tissue, and distant skin sites. Ticks are most likely to transfer the infection to you after being in contact with your blood for two or more days.
Though symptoms originate from a bacterial infection, many people continue to feel the symptoms of lyme disease even after the infection might be gone - this is a bit of a quandary. Antibiotics are the commonly touted treatment for lyme disease, and though a course of this medication can be extremely effective at treating the symptoms for many patients, for many, bacteria continue to live in the host's system despite antibiotic treatment.
According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 23,444 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2010. However, many people believe there are more people infected than these statistics would indicate.1 The disease is concentrated in certain parts of the country where both the ticks that carry the Lyme bacteria and the mice, deer, and chipmunks that the ticks live on are common. Although Lyme disease is most frequently associated with the Northeast United States, it has been reported in nearly all states.
What are the risk factors for Lyme disease?
What are the symptoms of Lyme disease?
How is Lyme disease diagnosed?
What are the treatments for Lyme disease?
Are there screening tests for Lyme disease?
How can I reduce my risk of Lyme disease?
The diagnosis of Lyme disease is usually based on the presence of symptoms and signs of the disease. If you have removed an attached tick from your body, tell your doctor. For 30 days after being bitten, you should watch closely for the characteristic “bulls-eye” rash at the site of the bite, or a fever. If you think you develop these or any other symptoms, see your doctor immediately. You are much less likely to develop Lyme disease if the tick had been attached to you for less than 24 hours. Treatment with appropriate antibiotics after a tick bite, while not endorsed by all experts, may also reduce your risk.
Presently, there are no tests that are completely accurate in diagnosing Lyme disease; many tests result in false positives or false negatives. However, your doctor may order one or more of the following tests to support the diagnosis of Lyme disease:
Antibodies are the body’s defense against an infection. If you have been infected with the Lyme disease bacteria, your body will release specific antibodies to fight it. It takes about four weeks or more for these antibodies to become detectable. Examples include:
Both of these tests can have false negative results (the test is negative even though you are infected) or false positive results (the test is positive even though you are not infected).
Some reasons why false negatives may occur include:
Some reasons why false positives may occur include:
These tests look directly for the bacteria, or pieces of it, in the blood and other fluids of the body, such as urine and spinal fluid. Two main types are:
This test is done by actually growing the Lyme bacteria from fluid taken from an open sore or other source of body fluids. If the bacteria grow, the test is considered positive. Cultures often take many weeks to grow the bacteria and are rarely used today.
This test is done when your symptoms indicate that Lyme disease is affecting the nervous system. Spinal fluid is tested for bacteria using one of the tests listed above. The spinal fluid is removed by spinal tap (inserting a needle into the spinal column).
This test is rarely used, but may be done in certain cases with symptoms that involve the nervous system. It is a kind of brain scan that looks for brain wave patterns that may indicate Lyme disease infection.
There seems to exist a correlation between Lyme disease and Alzheimer's disease, possibly suggesting that the infectious agent responsible for an initial Lyme disease infection could later be implicated as a cause of Alzheimer's disease. (This is speculated after autopsy of some Alzheimer's patients showed a presence of Lyme spirochetes in the brain.)1
