Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, which you can get if an infected deer tick (also called black-legged tick) bites you. Ordinary “wood ticks” and “dog ticks” don’t carry the infection.

The first recognition of Lyme disease, also called borreliosis, began in 1975 when many children received a diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in Lyme, Connecticut, and two neighboring towns. Researchers found that bites from infected deer ticks were responsible for the outbreak of arthritis.

What are the stages (phases) of Lyme disease?

Lyme disease may evolve through phases (stages), which can overlap and cause symptoms that may involve the skin, joints, heart or nervous system. These stages are:

• Early localized Lyme disease (weeks one through four).
• Early disseminated Lyme disease (months one through four).
• Late persistent, late disseminated or just late Lyme disease (after four months, even up to years later).

How common is Lyme disease?

In the United States, about 30,000 cases of Lyme disease are reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) each year. But there are other, diagnosed cases that aren’t reported.