Lyme disease causes

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Lyme disease is caused by Gram-negative spirochetal bacteria from the genus Borrelia. At least 37 Borrelia species have been described, 12 of which are Lyme related. The Borrelia species known to cause Lyme disease are collectively known as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, and have been found to have greater strain diversity than previously estimated.^[1]

Until recently it was thought that only three genospecies caused Lyme disease: B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (predominant in North America, but also in Europe), B. afzelii, and B. garinii (both predominant in Eurasia). However, newly discovered genospecies have also been found to cause disease in humans.

Causes

Borrelia bacteria, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Magnified 400 times. — *Borrelia* bacteria, the causative agent of Lyme disease. Magnified 400 times.

Lyme disease is caused by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi). Blacklegged ticks carry these bacteria. The ticks pick up the bacteria when they bite mice or deer that are infected with Lyme disease. You can get the disease if you are bitten by an infected tick.

Lyme disease was first reported in the United States in the town of Old Lyme, Connecticut, in 1975. In the United States, most Lyme disease infections occur in the following areas:

Northeastern states, from Virginia to Maine
North-central states, mostly in Wisconsin and Minnesota
West Coast, particularly northern California

Important facts about tick bites and Lyme disease

In most cases, a tick must be attached to your body for 24 - 36 hours to spread the bacteria to your blood.
Blacklegged ticks can be so small that they are almost impossible to see. Many people with Lyme disease never even saw a tick on their body.
Most people who are bitten by a tick do not get Lyme disease.

Gallery

Dorsal view of an adult female western blacklegged tick, whichs transmit Borrelia burgdorferi (agent of Lyme disease). From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Dorsal view of an adult female western blacklegged tick, whichs transmit Borrelia burgdorferi (agent of Lyme disease). From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Dorsal view of engorged female tick, extracted from the skin of a pet cat (26X mag). From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Dorsal view of engorged female tick, extracted from the skin of a pet cat while in the process of obtaining its blood meal (207X magnification). The wrinkled, expandable tissue enables the tick to ingest huge quantities of blood. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Scanning electron micrographic (SEM) image depicts dorsal view of an unidentified engorged female tick, wextracted from the skin of a pet cat while in the process of obtaining its blood meal (201X magnification). From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Produced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a green-colored, spiral-shaped Borrelia hermsii bacterium set atop a number of red-colored red blood cells (RBCs). B. hermsii is the causative agent of tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF). From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Produced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), this photomicrographic montage was created by combining two slides processed using the immunofluorescent antibody technique (IFA). One slide was used to identify spirochetes that express outer surface protein D, resulting in yellow- and red-colored organisms. Again using IFA on the second slide, spirochetes were labeled with an anti-B. burgdorferi antibody, producing organisms that had stained a glowing green color. The two slides were then combined producing this B. burgdorferi multicolored image. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
With its abdomen engorged with a host blood meal, this image depicts a lateral, or side view of a female blacklegged, or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis.From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This photomicrograph shows a stained thin smear of peripheral blood from a newborn child (born in Colorado in 2011) indicating the presence of numerous Borrelia hermsii spirochetes (arrows), consistent with a tickborne relapsing fever (TBRF) infection. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Under a magnification of 6.5X, this image depicts a dorsal view of a soft tick, Ornithodoros hermsi, which is a known vector for the disease tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF), which is a bacterial infection characterized by recurring episodes of fever, headache, muscle and joint aches, and nausea. It is caused by certain species of Borrelia spirochetes. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This photograph depicts a deer tick, or blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, as it was questing on a blade of grass. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Under a high magnification, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph depicts three Gram-negative, anaerobic, Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which had been derived from a pure culture. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Under a high magnification, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph depicts three Gram-negative, anaerobic, Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which had been derived from a pure culture. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Under a high magnification, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph depicts a grouping of Gram-negative, anaerobic, Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which had been derived from a pure culture.From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph depicts a grouping of numerous Gram-negative, anaerobic, Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which had been derived from a pure culture. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Under a high magnification, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph depicts a grouping of Gram-negative, anaerobic, Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which had been derived from a pure culture. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
An enlarged view of PHIL 13166, this digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicts a grouping of numerous Gram-negative, anaerobic, Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which had been derived from a pure culture. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph depicts a grouping of numerous Gram-negative, anaerobic, Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria, which had been derived from a pure culture. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Under a magnification of 201X, this scanning electron micrographic (SEM) image depicted a dorsal view of an unidentified engorged female tick, which had been extracted from the skin of a pet cat while in the process of obtaining its blood meal. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Under a low magnification of 26X, this scanning electron micrographic (SEM) image depicted a dorsal view of an unidentified engorged female tick, which had been extracted from the skin of a pet cat. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Under a relatively low magnification of 95X, this scanning electron micrograph (SEM) provided a closer view of this male Dermacentor sp. tick found upon a cat in the suburbs of Decatur, Georgia, which measured approximately 3.5mm from its gnathosoma (i.e., capitulum), which is where its mouthparts are located, to the distal abdominal margin (PHIL 9961). PHIL 9959 revealed all this tick’s legs, placing it into the Phylum Arthropoda. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Under a magnification of 3043X, approximately 8 times greater than PHIL 9963, this scanning electron micrograph (SEM) depicted a dorsal view of an unidentified male Dermacentor sp. tick found upon a cat in the suburbs of Decatur, Georgia. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
his photograph depicted a dorsal view of a female "lone star tick", Amblyomma americanum. Note the characteristic “lone star” marking located centrally on its dorsal surface, at the distal tip of its scutum From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This photograph depicts an anterior, or head-on view of an engorged female "lone star tick", Amblyomma americanum. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This photograph depicted ventral view of an engorged female "lone star tick" Amblyomma americanum. An Ixodes or "hard" tick, A. americanum is found through the southeast and south-central states, and has been shown to transmit the spirochete, Borrelia lonestari. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Using darkfield microscopy technique, this photomicrograph, magnified 400x, reveals the presence of spirochete, or “corkscrew-shaped” bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the pathogen responsible for causing Lyme disease. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This photograph depicts a white-footed mouse, Peromyscus leucopus, which is a wild rodent reservoir host of ticks, which are known to carry the bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, responsible for Lyme disease. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This photograph of a whitetail deer, Odocoileus virginianus, was taken during a Lyme disease field investigation in 1993. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This is a dorsal view of the “soft tick” Carios kelleyi, formerly Ornithodoros kelleyi, or the “Bat Tick”. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This is a dorsal view of the “soft tick” Carios kelleyi, formerly Ornithodoros kelleyi, or the “Bat Tick”. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
This is a female “Lone star tick”, Amblyomma americanum, and is found in the southeastern and midatlantic United States. From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
These "black-legged ticks", Ixodes scapularis, also referred to as I. dammini, are found on a wide rage of hosts including mammals, birds and reptiles.From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
Histopathology showing Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes in Lyme disease. Dieterle silver stain.From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]
“Corkscrew-shaped” bacteria known as Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the pathogen responsible for causing Lyme disease (400x mag). From Public Health Image Library (PHIL). ^[2]