Lyme Disease Tick Borne Ilness

Lyme disease is a systemic infection caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings , and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks; laboratory testing is helpful in the later stages of disease. Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness that causes signs and symptoms ranging from rash and flu-like fever and body aches to more serious ones including joint swelling, weakness, fatigue and temporary paralysis.

Lyme disease can be transmitted from an infected mother to fetus through the placenta during pregnancy, possibly resulting in stillbirth. Lyme disease has at least 37 known species, 12 of which are Lyme related, and an unknown number of genomic strains. Lyme disease can affect the skin, joints, nervous system, and other organ systems. Symptoms, and their severity, can vary from person to person. In about 50% of the cases a characteristic rash or lesion called erythema migrans is seen. It begins a few days to a few weeks after the bite of an infected tick.

It is often described as looking like a bull's-eye with alternating light and dark rings. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in North America and Europe, and one of the fastest-growing infectious diseases in the United States. Lyme disease can affect the heart, leading to an irregular heart rhythm or chest pain. It can spread to the nervous system, causing ****** paralysis or tingling and numbness in the arms and legs. It can start to cause headaches and neck stiffness, which may be a sign of meningitis.

Swelling and pain in the large joints can also occur. Lyme disease is not transmitted from person to person. The risk of developing Lyme disease depends on an individual's exposure to ticks. In 60-80 percent of cases, a rash resembling a bull’s eye or solid patch, about two inches in diameter, appears and expands around or near the site of the bite. Lyme disease is most common in rural and suburban areas in the northeastern and midwestern states. Lyme disease occurs in patients of all ages. However, a bimodal peak exists: one at age 5-14 years and a second one at 50-59 years