Lyme disease

Lyme disease, also known as Lyme borreliosis, is an infectious disease. It is caused by bacteria of the genus Borrelia. The disease is carried by ticks. Ticks can be found in bed sheets and are parasitic on mammals such as mice, deer, and people. In other words, ticks are the vector which transmits the disease.

It is the most common tick-borne infection in the United States. Although Allen Steere realized in 1978 that Lyme disease was a tick-borne disease, the cause of the disease remained a mystery until 1982. It can cause joint swelling, rashes, and neurological symptoms.[1]

Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics. Depending on disease stage and antibiotic used, treatment is usually between 10 and 28 days.[2]

Symptoms
Lyme arthritis caused this 3-year-old girl's knee to become swollen. Though painless, it did make her limp.[3]
  • Fever
  • A bulls-eye rash, also known as Erythema migrans.
  • Cranial nerve palsies (drooping of the face)
  • Arthritis
  • Fatigue
  • Headache
  • Myalgias (muscle pain) and arthralgias (joint pain)
  • Meningitis (stiff neck)
  • Chills[4]

References
  1. "IDSA : Updated Guidelines on Diagnosis, Treatment of Lyme Disease". www.idsociety.org. Archived from the original on 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  2. Lantos, Paul M; et al. (23 January 2021). "Clinical Practice Guidelines by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), American Academy of Neurology (AAN), and American College of Rheumatology (ACR): 2020 Guidelines for the Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment of Lyme Disease". Clinical Infectious Diseases. 72 (1): e1–e48. doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa1215. PMID 33417672.
  3. Guardado, Katherine E.; Sergent, Shane (14 January 2022). "Pediatric unilateral knee swelling: a case report of a complicated differential diagnosis and often overlooked cause". Journal of Osteopathic Medicine. 122 (2): 105–109. doi:10.1515/jom-2020-0332. PMID 34989214. S2CID 245705028.
  4. "Lyme Disease – Lyme Disease – CDC". www.cdc.gov. 20 December 2018.


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