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Health and Medicine - How Is Lyme Disease Carried?

How is Lyme disease carried?

The cause of Lyme disease is the spirochete (spiral-shaped bacterium) Bonelia burgdorferi. It is transmitted to humans by the small tick lxodes dammini other ticks in the Ixodidae family. The tick injects spirochete-laden saliva into the victim's bloodstream or deposits fecal matter on the victim's skin.

This disease, which attacks several of the body's systems, is usually contracted in the summer. It begins with a skin lesion called erythema chronicum migrans (ECM), followed by a red, blotchy skin rash and conjunctivitis (swelling of the inside of the eyelid, sometimes called pink-eye). Other common symptoms in the first stage include fatigue, intermittent headaches, stiff neck, fever, chills, swollen lymph glands, and achiness.

If left untreated, Lyme disease becomes more serious in the weeks or months to come. The victim may suffer heart problems and/or damage to the...

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