ANFS332 Lecture 25: Lyme Disease - Borrelia burgdorferi
4 Feb 2020
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Lyme disease is an infection caused by borrelia burgdorferi, a type of bacterium called a spirochete (pronounced spy-ro-keet) that is carried by deer ticks. An infected tick can transmit the spirochete to the humans and animals it bites. Untreated, the bacterium travels through the bloodstream, establishes itself in various body tissues, and can cause a number of symptoms, some of which are severe. Ixodes scapularis (deer tick or black-legged tick, only three species carry the disease organism) In humans symptoms appear 3-30 days after the tick bite. Some symptoms may not appear until weeks after a tick bite. Arthritis is most likely to appear as brief bouts of pain and swelling, usually in one or more large joints, especially the knees. Neurological abnormalities can include numbness, pain, bell"s palsy (paralysis of facial muscles, usually on one side), and meningitis (fever, stiff neck, severe headache)
