Lyme Disease - Everything You Need to Know
Lyme Disease is a bacterial infection caused by Borrelia burgdorferi.
This disease is transmitted to humans by ticks.
Lyme arthritis was recognized as a clinical manifestation in 1976.
Researchers at Yale University investigated a cluster of arthritis in children from the three contiguous communities of Old Lyme, Lyme, and East Haddam, Connecticut.
If left untreated it can spread to other organs and cause permanent damage to joints, heart and nervous system.
Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings, and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks.
Laboratory testing is required to confirm the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi in the system of the host.
Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics.
Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, landscaping, and integrated pest management.
Microbiology: Borrelia burgdorferi is a Gram negative bacteria belonging to the group of spirochete.
It is a highly specialized, motile, two-membrane, spiral-shaped bacteria which lives primarily as an extracellular pathogen.
It can survive inside the host for months even years.
It has an unusual genome which consists of linear chromosomes and many linear and circular plasmids.
21 different plasmids were found, which represents the largest known complement of plasmids of all bacteria and constitutes one third of the spirochete's DNA.
Laboratory testing has confirmed that most of the virulence of the bacteria is linked to plasmids.
After growing bacteria in cultures, results have shown that Borrelia loses some it's plasmids and was unable to contract the disease in the laboratory animals.
Pathology
This disease is transmitted to humans by ticks.
Lyme arthritis was recognized as a clinical manifestation in 1976.
Researchers at Yale University investigated a cluster of arthritis in children from the three contiguous communities of Old Lyme, Lyme, and East Haddam, Connecticut.
If left untreated it can spread to other organs and cause permanent damage to joints, heart and nervous system.
Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings, and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks.
Laboratory testing is required to confirm the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi in the system of the host.
Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics.
Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, landscaping, and integrated pest management.
Microbiology: Borrelia burgdorferi is a Gram negative bacteria belonging to the group of spirochete.
It is a highly specialized, motile, two-membrane, spiral-shaped bacteria which lives primarily as an extracellular pathogen.
It can survive inside the host for months even years.
It has an unusual genome which consists of linear chromosomes and many linear and circular plasmids.
21 different plasmids were found, which represents the largest known complement of plasmids of all bacteria and constitutes one third of the spirochete's DNA.
Laboratory testing has confirmed that most of the virulence of the bacteria is linked to plasmids.
After growing bacteria in cultures, results have shown that Borrelia loses some it's plasmids and was unable to contract the disease in the laboratory animals.
Pathology
