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Lyme Disease
 

Are You at Risk?

WHILE AIDS is grabbing headlines, Lyme disease is barely making footnotes. Yet, Lyme disease is spreading rapidly. In fact, a few years ago, The New York Times Magazine called it "the fastest-growing infectious disease in the [United States] after AIDS." Reports from other lands show that the disease is spreading in Asia, Europe, and South America as well.

What is Lyme disease? How is it spreading? Are you at risk?

Ticks, Deer, and You

Some 20 years ago, a mysterious increase in arthritis cases occurred in and around the town of Lyme, Connecticut, which is located in the northeastern part of the United States. The victims were mostly children. Their arthritis began with rashes, headaches, and pains in their joints. One resident noted that soon her "husband and two of the children were on crutches." Before long, over 50 people in that area were affected, and within years, thousands were suffering the same painful symptoms.

Researchers, realizing that this illness was different from other diseases, named it Lyme disease. Its cause? Borrelia burgdorferi—a corkscrew-shaped bacterium living in ticks. How is it spread? Strolling through the woods, a person may pick up an infected tick. The tick pierces the person's skin and injects the disease-causing bacterium into the hapless stroller. Since these infected ticks often hitchhike, feed, and mate on deer and since more people are settling in rural areas where deer are thriving, it is no wonder that the incidence of Lyme disease has been rising.

Symptoms and Problems

The first symptom of Lyme disease is generally a skin rash (known as erythema migrans, or EM) that starts as a small red spot. Over a period of days or weeks, the telltale spot expands into a circular, triangular, or oval-shaped rash that may be the size of a dime or may spread over the entire width of one's back. Fever, headache, stiff neck, body aches, and fatigue often accompany the rash. If not treated in time, more than half the victims suffer attacks of painful and swollen joints, which may last for months. Up to 20 percent of untreated patients end up with chronic arthritis. Though less common, the disease may also affect the nervous system and cause heart problems.—See the accompanying box

Many experts consider Lyme disease difficult to diagnose because its initial, flulike symptoms are similar to those of other infections. In addition, 1 out of every 4 infected persons does not develop a rash—the only hallmark unique to Lyme disease—and many patients cannot recall if they were bitten by a tick because its bite is usually painless.

The diagnosis of the disease is further hampered because currently available antibody blood tests are unreliable. Antibodies in the patient's blood tell that the body's immune system has detected invaders, but some tests cannot tell if those invaders are Lyme disease bacteria. So a patient may test positive for Lyme disease while, in reality, his symptoms stem from other bacterial infections. The National Institutes of Health in the United States (NIH) therefore advises physicians to base their diagnosis on the history of a tick bite, the patient's symptoms, and a thorough ruling out of other diseases that may have triggered those symptoms.

Signs of Lyme Disease
Early Infection: Rash Muscle and joint aches Headache Stiff neck Significant fatigue Fever Facial paralysis Meningitis Brief episodes of joint pain and swelling Less common: Eye inflammation Dizziness Shortness of breath		Late Infection: Arthritis, intermittent or chronic Less common: Memory loss Difficulty with concentration Change in mood or sleeping habits One or more of these symptoms may be present at different times during the infection.—Lyme Disease—The Facts, the Challenge, published by the National Institutes of Health.

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Copyright © 2001 [Alan Luke]. All rights reserved.
Revised: 02/23/10. Home