subject: What Is Lyme Disease? [print this page] Lyme is potentially an overwhelming condition started by a bacterium transmitted to humans who are bitten by a specific type of infected tick. Initial symptoms could include a rash, but an untreated infection can move to the muscle joints, cardiovascular system and nervous system. This disease got its name from the location where the first infections were recorded: Lyme, CT. This wooded area of the state continues to be home to the bacterium, but cases in the US have also extended to other geographic regions. Comprehending what happened in Connecticut explains the illness today.
Lyme, Conn. is a small, country town. It was built next to the Connecticut River. It houses only about 2,000 inhabitants going into 2012. The area is known for its wooded countryside and its farms.
In the 1970s, the residents of Lyme and two nearby villages noticed several kids suffering from a sort of rheumatoid arthritis. They looked for proper care and inevitably researchers understood what was causing the unusual cluster of childhood cases. Many of the affected kids lived or played in the woods and first saw signs in the summer months. The scientists zeroed in on ticks, which live on deer in wooded regions. They also found out that some kids got a rash on their skins just before they started feeling arthritis. The researchers gave the condition the name Lyme disease and told doctors it might be diagnosed by searching for a bulls-eye rash on the skins and the onset of arthritic signs.
In the early 1980s, scientists looking at numerous tick-borne illnesses determined that lyme disease was caused by bacteria later called Borrelia burgdorferi that was hosted by these ticks.
Lyme disease cases soon spread beyond its origin. Today, most infections occur in the US in the Northeastern and coastal states; in the North Central states and along the Pacific Coast.
In the Atlantic states, the bacteria is carried by the infected deer tick, the Ixodes scapularis. Along the West Coast, mainly in wooded regions of California, it's promulgated by the western deer tick, the Ixodes pacificus. Deer ticks are small, about as large as a seed when theyre adults. Many bites are carried out by young ticks called nymphs, which are significantly smaller.
Some people notice they have been bitten, but many do not. Some see the unique target mark at the sport of the bite; others dont. Initial indicators can include exhaustion, migraine and high temperature. The contagion can spread to the heart, the nerves and the muscle joints. It can cause incapacitating arthritis. An infection is diagnosed by the presence of the signs as well as positive blood tests for unique antibodies. Antibiotics should be utilized against Lyme. Doing so soon after infection prevents it from causing the most serious, enduring issues. Early tests are an essential.
