Vector-Borne Illness: Lyme Disease

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Recommended: Descriptive epidemiological analysis of lyme

Lyme disease (LD) is the most frequently occurring vector-borne illness in the United States (Bratton, Edwards, Engle, Hovan, & Whiteside, 2008). The number of reported cases of LD has grown exponentially since its discovery in the 1970’s. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported over 17,000 cases of LD in 2000 and by 2009 that number had risen to 38,000 (Shapiro & Gerber, 2000). Along with the increasing number of cases reported, the geographic area of LD has also expanded. When LD was initially discovered the disease was largely contained to the eastern states between Maine and Maryland, and the Midwest, mainly Minnesota and Wisconsin (Alao & Decker, 2012). More recently cases have been reported in northern California, Oregon and even as far north as Canada and Scandinavia. Data suggests that climate change may have affected the geographic shift and spread of Lyme disease (Bhate & Schwartz, 2011).
Pathophysiology
Lyme disease is acquired by the spread of spirochete bacteria, B. burgdorferi, to its host through the bite of an infected tick, specifically of the Ixodes species (Shapiro & Gerber, 2000). The tick must attach to its host for several hours before transmission occurs. If the tick is able to feed for more than 24-36 hours it transmits salivary secretions into the human host which contains the causative bacteria (Alao & Decker, 2012). The risk of transmission becomes significant when the tick feeds for 48 hours or longer (Shapiro & Gerber, 2000). Most ticks are relatively easy to spot when on the body. However, if the parasite moves into areas that are less easily detected such as the groin, armpits or scalp the risk of transmission due to longer feeding time increases (Alao & Decker, 2012). Ticks ...

... middle of paper ...

...own tick bite in which the tick was able to feed for at least 36 hours (Bhate & Schwartz, 2011). However, the use of prophylaxis has been the subject of debate due to concerns of antibiotic resistance.

Works Cited

Alao, O. R., & Decker, C. F. (2012, June). Lyme disease. Disease a month, 58, 335-345. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.disamonth.2012.03.005
Bhate, C., & Schwartz, R. A. (2011, April). Lyme disease. CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION, 619-636. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2010.03.047
Bratton, R. L., Edwards, F. D., Engle, R. L., Hovan, M. J., & Whiteside, J. W. (2008, May). Diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 83, 566-571. Retrieved from http://www.mayoclinicproceedings.com
Shapiro, E. D., & Gerber, M. A. (2000, August). Lyme disease. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 31, 533-542. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/4482329

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