Lyme Disease

Basics

Description

  • Most common tick-borne illness in North America
  • Endemic in Northeast, Upper Midwest, and northwestern California

Etiology

  • Peak April–November; 80–90% in summer months
  • Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi introduced by Ixodes tick:
    • Ixodes scapularis(deer tick) most common
    • Same tick that transmits anaplasmosis, babesiosis
  • Pathogenesis—combination of:
    • Organism-induced local inflammation
    • Cytokine release
    • Autoimmunity
  • No person-to-person transmission

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