Borrelia Burgdorferi: Lyme Disease

Prevention of Lyme disease lies in avoiding contact with ticks and removing ticks that attach to the skin. Avoiding grassy and woody areas is one way. Dressing defensively to cover up the skin available for the tick to attach is another way prevents the disease. Using repellants on exposed skin or checking for ticks regularly are other methods.

I chose to do my research paper on Lyme disease. During my research, I found a lot of interesting facts about Lyme disease. The disease is caused by bacteria, called Borrelia burgdorferi, which is only transmitted to humans when they are bitten by an infected tick. Lyme disease was first discovered in 1975, in Lyme, Connecticut, after a group of children were diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. This eventually led them to discover the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease was given its name in 1982, after the town of Lyme, Connecticut. According to Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Lyme disease is the most commonly reported vectorborne illness in the United States. In 2014, it was the fifth most common Nationally Notifiable disease. Lyme disease is most prevalent in the northeast and upper Midwest.

Plague, was a term that was applied in the Middle Ages to all fatal epidemic diseases, but now it is only applied to an acute, infectious, contagious disease of rodents and humans, caused by a short, thin, gram-negative bacillus. In humans, plague occurs in three forms: bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague. The best known form is the bubonic plague and it is named after buboes, or enlarged, inflamed lymph nodes, which are characteristics of the plague in the groin or neck or armpit. Bubonic plague can only be transmitted by the bite of any of numerous insects that are normally parasitic on rodents and that seek new hosts when the original host dies. If the plague is left untreated

Most Lyme disease cases are very serious. The disease creates symptoms that are similar to the flu. When you first catch the disease you may experience fever, chills, sweats, muscle aches, fatigue, nausea and general pain. Very rarely, Lyme disease may be fatal depending on which strain of the disease you caught.

Borrelia burgodoferi is transmitted into humans and mammals by the Ixodes scapularis known as the deer tick or blacklegged tick. The disease cannot be transmitted from person to person contact. Pets can cause an increased rate of infected ticks to a home but cannot transmit the disease to their owners. The ticks have a 2 year life cycle that includes larval, nymphal, and adult stages. It is during the nymphal and adult stages that the disease is transmitted.

Lyme borreliosis or Lyme disease can be devastating both physically and mentally for victims. The disease is transmitted by a vector, specifically a tick, which infects their host by biting and infecting them with pathological spirochete bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi (Muschart & Blommaert, 2015). There are several species of Borrelia globally, and as a group, the bacteria are referred to as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Pearson, 2015). The disease originated from, Lyme Connecticut, of which it was named, after a patient was mistakenly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis when the cause of their disease was B. burgdorferi or Lyme disease (Snow, 2013). Lyme disease is classified as one of the most common and growing vector-born disease in the United States as well as Europe (Snow, 2013). Understanding how Lyme disease progresses through the body as well as the disease’s signs and symptoms are essential to understanding how to treat the disease and stop it from spreading throughout the body with destructive results. With a disease as potentially devastating as Lyme disease, early treatment is required for a better outcome (Pearson, 2015). This research paper will discuss the pathophysiology of three Lyme conditions known as Lyme arthritis, Lyme neuroborreliosis, and Lyme carditis and provide an overview of the signs and symptoms of Lyme disease and treatments, and how to prevent infection.

As stated before, it is transmitted via a bite from an infected tick. There are two main species of ticks, Ixodes scapularis, the blacklegged tick, and Ixodes pacificus, the western blacklegged tick. Ixodes scapularis is mainly found in the northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and north central United States while Ixodes pacificus is found on the Pacific coast of the US (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013). The most common reservoirs of these ticks are the white tailed deer and the white footed mouse (Wadsworth Center, n.d.).

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection caused by a spirochete, a corkscrew-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgodorferi. Lyme disease is primarily transmitted through tick bites, there has been no reported cases of human to human transfer of Lyme disease. Ixodes ticks, also known as deer ticks are the typical carriers of the Lyme disease. The ticks can most primarily be found in wooded and grassy areas. Due to the fact these ticks are only the size of a poppy seed they usually go undetected when they bite. Once the tick is attached to the skin it can feed for several days; the longer the tick is attached the more likely Lyme disease will be transmitted. Lyme disease can affect any organ of the body including the brain, nervous system, muscles, joints, and even the heart. In some cases, if a pregnant woman develops Lyme disease it can pass on to the unborn child and in some cases stillbirth has occurred due to the disease.

Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne illness in the world. This disease has been reported in all 50 states, mainly the New England states (Khatchikian, 2015). Lyme disease has also been reported in China, parts of the Soviet Union, Europe, Japan, and Australia. In 1957, a group of children and adults in the Lyme, Connecticut area, and surrounding areas had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (Shiel, William C). Dr. Allen Steere began researching to solve this problem. Steere identified the Lyme disease was transferred by ticks (BayAreaLyme.com).

bodily functions, especially in the nervous system (1). It occurs because of the effect of bacterial infection, a Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which is blood-borne to a person by infectious ticks (1). The disease is more common in North America and Europe, especially in wilderness areas and grassland (1). Lyme disease is classified into phases according to the speed and the extent of the infection in the body. Early diagnosis and treatment prevent the patient from reaching the late phase, so it is important to be aware of the two phases of Lyme disease, which are the early disease phase that has two stages, and the late disease phase.

Lyme disease is an illness caused by bites from infected deer ticks. Specifically deer ticks infected by the bacterium called Borrelia Burgdorferi. This disease is usually only contracted on the west coast, in wooded areas where ticks could easily drop on you and attach. Although, it can be found in other parts of the United States as well. It is also found in more than sixty other countries worldwide. More than 300,000 people are infected by this disease per year. Lyme disease's symptoms mimic those of other diseases which is why it is called the “The Great imitator.” It can affect any  organ, including heart, lungs, and our nervous systems. This disease can be misdiagnosed with fibromyalgia and depression. Overall, Lyme Disease is a dangerous

Most people already know of Lyme’s Disease as the famous disease that is spread through ticks to most hikers. They speak of the terrible symptoms that come with it. With all of this information, it seems like you may already know everything about it - however, it couldn’t hurt to know just a little bit more about it. The question that shall be answered must be “How does one protect against Lyme’s Disease?” Said question shall be answered through several probing questions and paragraphs, all relating to said question.

It is important to this course because it affects any organ of the body, including the brain and nervous system, muscles and joints, and the heart. Lyme disease is a tick-borne illness caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Borrelia burgdorferi is a bacterial species of the spirochete class of the genus Borrelia. B. burgdorferi which resides mostly in North America and Europe and is the creator of Lyme disease. If the disease is left untreated an infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system. The bacteria often is found in the skin, after the infected tick has been in place for 36 to 48 hours.

The Bubonic Plague is a deadly bacteria known as Yersinia Pestis. The bacteria infects the Lymphatic system and it becomes inflamed. The bacteria kills by cutting off a cell’s ability to communicate with other immune system cells. It is the most common form of plague in humans, characterized by fever, delirium, and the formation of buboes. It is a rare but serious bacterial infection transmitted usually from a flea feeding on an infected rodent that intern becomes infected and bites a human thereby transmitting the rodents blood.

Lyme disease is a bacterial illness that is transfused to humans via a bite from a tick infected with the disease. (Ticks are scientifically classified as Arachnida, a specific classification that also includes spiders.) The most common ticks known to carry Lyme disease are the Deer Tick and the Western Black-Legged Tick. The first manifestation of an infection is typically a rash, which may appear to resemble a bull 's eye. The proliferation of the infection progressively brings on symptoms that include headache, fever, muscle and joint pain, fatigue and stiffness of the neck. Lyme disease goes undiagnosed because of the size of these ticks being the size of a peppercorn and unobserved by person that was bitten. In addition, numerous symptoms are like those of the flu and other bacterial infections. Laboratory evaluations may help facilitate at this stage, but may not always give a clear diagnosis. (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, 2016).