What is lyme disease?
A: Lyme disease is a vector-borne disease caused by the Borrelia bacterium.
How is it spread?
A: It is spread by ticks in the genus Ixodes.
What is the most common sign of infection?
A: An expanding red rash, known as erythema migrans, which appears at the
site of the tick bite about a week afterwards.
The rash is typically what?
A: Neither itchy nor painful.
What percentage of infected people develop a rash?
A: Approximately 70–80%.
Early diagnosis can be what?
A: Difficult.
Other early symptoms may include what?
A: Fever, headaches and tiredness.
If untreated, symptoms may include what?
A: Loss of the ability to move one or both sides of the face, joint pains,
severe headaches with neck stiffness or heart palpitations.
What can happen months to years later?
A: Repeated episodes of joint pain and swelling may occur.
Occasionally shooting pains or tingling in what may
develop?
A: The arms and legs.
Despite appropriate treatment about 10 to 20% of those
affected develop what?
A: Joint pains, memory problems and tiredness for at least six months.
Lyme disease is transmitted to humans by the bites of
what?
A: Infected ticks of the genus Ixodes.
In the United States ticks of concern are usually of
the Ixodes scapularis type and must be attached for how long before the
bacteria can spread?
A: At least 36 hours.
In Europe Ixodes ricinus ticks may do what?
A: Spread the bacteria more quickly.
In North America what bacteria cause Lyme disease?
A: Borrelia burgdorferi and B. mayonii.
The disease does not appear to be transmissible between
whom?
A: People, by other animals nor through
food.
Diagnosis is based on what?
A: A combination of symptoms, history of tick exposure and possibly testing
for specific antibodies in the blood.
When are blood tests often negative?
A: In the early stages of the disease.[3]
Prevention includes efforts to what?
A: Prevent tick bites by wearing clothing to cover the arms and legs and
using DEET or picaridin-based insect repellents.
Using pesticides to reduce tick numbers may also be
what?
A: Effective.
Ticks can be removed using what?
A: Tweezers.
If the removed tick is full of blood a single dose of
doxycycline may be used to what?
A: To prevent the development of infection but is not generally recommended
since the development of infection is rare.
If an infection develops, a number of antibiotics are
effective, including what?
A: Doxycycline, amoxicillin and cefuroxime.
Standard treatment usually lasts for how long?
A: Two or three weeks.
How many people a year are diagnosed and treated for
the disease in the United States?
A: An estimated 476,000, and over 200,000 people a year in Western Europe.
When are infections most common?
A: In the spring and early summer.
When was Lyme disease diagnosed as a separate condition
for the first time?
A: In 1975 in Lyme, Connecticut.
It was originally mistaken for what?
A: Juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.
The bacterium involved was first described in 1981 by
whom?
A: Willy Burgdorfer.