Lyme+Disease

=**LYME DISEASE (Everything you need to know... but not really.)** =

Official Name: Lyme Disease Scientific Name: Borrelia burgdorferi

INTRODUCTION

Lyme disease is an Emerging Infectious Disease (which means that it is spreading more and more around the world) contracted when receiving a tick bite. The disease was named for Lyme, Connecticut, USA, where quite a few cases where recorded in 1975. The cause of the disease was confirmed by Allen Steere (currently a professor at Harvard University) in 1978.

TRANSMISSION & SYMPTOMS

The disease is caused when a tick infected with the Borrelia burgdorferi germ latches onto your skin and starts to drink some of your blood. While the tick drinks, the bacteria is released and flows through your bloodstream. It isn't easy to tell if you have Lyme disease as the germ is infamous for having symptoms commonly associated with other diseases like the common cold and the flu. The only surefire symptom of Lyme Disease is a bullseye-shaped rash, but not even this happens all the time.

Known symptoms: *EARLY SYMPTOMS* flu-like illness, rash, headache *LATER SYMPTOMS* stiff neck, sleep disturbances, mood swings, diarrhea, nausea, pains. There ARE worse symptoms than this, but you probably don't want to know about those. They're bad enough to make YOU sick.

CURES & PREVENTION

The most common way to treat Lyme Disease is to use antibiotics, as they work for almost anything, though cures are still highly debated. The way to prevent Lyme Disease is to avoid walking in tall grass when hiking, wearing long sleeved clothes and using bug spray, checking for ticks after hiking, and removing any ticks that have latched on.

PHOTO GALLERY



[|Rash picture source] [|Allen Steere picture source]

Information sources: [] [] []

by Alice Lee