Lyme disease, named for Lyme, Connecticut where some of the first U.S. cases were recognized in 1975, is contracted through the bite of an infected tick. The Blacklegged Tick, Ixodes scapularis (formerly Ixodes dammini, the “deer tick”), and Western Blacklegged Tick, Ixodes pacificus, are the only known vectors that transmit Lyme disease. The bacterial spirochete Borellia burgdorferi is responsible for the symptoms.
Symptoms
Lyme disease is often misdiagnosed because symptoms mimic many other maladies. This can result in delayed treatment leading to severe, chronic illness. Three stages of symptoms are possible, but enough exceptions occur to defy generalization.
- Three days to three weeks after a tick bite, an expanding “bull’s-eye” rash (Erythema migrans or “EM”) may ring the bite wound, but this can be absent. Aches, fatigue, chills, fever, headaches, and swollen lymph nodes can manifest.
- Weeks or months later, the EM rash may spread to other parts of the body. Severe headaches, meningitis, encephalitis, abnormal heartbeat, Bell’s palsy, painful swelling of joints, social isolation, and depression may occur.
- Long term, left untreated, arthritis in major joints is the overwhelming effect of Lyme disease. This is often misinterpreted as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in children. Fatigue, numbness in arms and legs, and loss of memory are rare.
Avoid forest edges, tall grass, and thickets of shrubs and trees where ticks lurk. Wear long pants, tucking the cuffs into your socks; and long-sleeved shirts, pale in color so ticks can be seen easily. Use insect repellent, such as Ben’s® products from TenderCorp, with DEET as the active ingredient. Apply it to clothing so you don’t sweat it off. Always inspect your body for ticks after being in tick habitat. Ticks have a knack for embedding where you can’t easily see them, like in armpits, the groin, behind ears and knees, and the back of your neck, but they roam before settling down to feed.
Treatment
Early diagnosis, followed by treatment with appropriate oral antibiotics, usually results in full recovery of infected patients. However, 10-20% of patients, especially those diagnosed later in the progression of the illness, may develop Post-treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS). These patients exhibit persistent and/or recurring symptoms. The National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control are working on research and clinical trials for effective, long-term treatment of those cases.