Tick-borne Lyme disease

Lyme Disease was first recognized in 1975 when a group of young people from Lyme, Connecticut developed symptoms of arthritis after being bitten by ticks.  These ticks (found on the deer) were infected with a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi.  Lyme disease-carrying ticks can be found especially in the Northeastern and upper Midwest areas of the country.  Moore, P., The Little Book of Pandemics,(New York:  Fall River Press, 2007),118-120.

The significant early symptom of Lyme disease is a bull’s-eye rash (present in 80% of Lyme disease patients.)  This bull’s-eye rash can show up from 3 days to 30 days after the tick bite.  Other symptoms a person can experience includes chills, fever, exhaustion, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat, sinus infection and swollen lymph nodes. 

Treatment for Lyme disease is appropriate antibiotics—as soon as possible.  The longer Lyme disease is untreated, the worse the symptoms become and the more damage the infection can do.