Target Rash from Deer Tick Bite Transmitting Lymes Disease
Lyme disease, or borreliosis, is an emerging infectious disease caused by at least three species of bacteria belonging to the genus Borrelia. Borrelia burgdorferi is the predominant cause of Lyme disease in the United States, whereas Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii are implicated in most European cases. Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere. Borrelia is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected ticks belonging to certain species of the genus Ixodes (the hard-bodied 'hard ticks'). Early manifestations of infection may include fever, headache, fatigue, depression, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. Left untreated, late manifestations involving the joints, heart, and nervous system can occur. In most cases, the infection and its symptoms are eliminated with antibiotics, especially if diagnosis and treatment occur early in the course of illness. Late, delayed, or inadequate treatment can lead to late manifestations of Lyme disease which can be disabling and difficult to treat. Some Lyme disease patients who have completed a course of antibiotic treatment continue to have symptoms such as severe fatigue, sleep disturbance, and cognitive difficulties. Some groups have argued that "chronic" Lyme disease is responsible for a range of medically unexplained symptoms beyond the objectively recognized manifestations of late Lyme disease, and that additional, long-term antibiotic treatment is warranted in such cases. Of four randomized controlled trials of long-term ceftriaxone and doxycycline treatment courses in patients with ongoing symptoms, two found no benefit, and two found inconsistent benefits and significant side effects and risks from further antibiotic treatment.
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Photo credit: © Phil Degginger / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: bacterium, bite, borrelia, deer, disease, erythema, human, infection, ixodes, lyme, lymes, medical, migrans, rash, scapularis, spirochaete, spirochaetes, spirochete, spirochetes, spirokete, target, tick, transmitting, vector-borne, zoonotic, zootic
