Definition

Lyme disease, which is also known as Lyme borreliosis, is an infection transmitted by the bite of deer ticks carrying the spirochete (spiral-shaped bacterium) Borrelia burgdorferi. The disease was named for Lyme, Connecticut, the town where it was first diagnosed in 1975 after a puzzling outbreak of juvenile arthritis. The organism that causes the disease was identified in 1982 and named for its discoverer, Willy Burgdorfer.

Description

Lyme disease is classified as a zoonosis, which means that it is a disease of animals that can be transmitted to humans under natural conditions; it cannot be transmitted person-to-person. B. burgdorferi is carried by infected deer ticks (more precisely known as black-legged ticks) and passed to humans or household pets when they are bitten by the ticks. In the United States, the white-footed mouse is the usual host of immature (nymphal and larval) ticks,...