Lyme Disease Analysis

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that effects people of all ages. It is a disease that is transmitted through tick bites, which causes a multitude of reactions. The spirochete (corkscrew) shaped bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, mimics the symptoms of many other diseases, making it difficult to identify it. People who have Lyme disease are often wrongfully diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), multiple sclerosis, and depression. Misdiagnosis with these illnesses delays accurate identification and treatment as the infection progresses. Treatment for this disease is simple, with the use of antibiotics however based on the progression of the disease, the type and or method of receiving the antibiotics may differ. Once the antibiotic …show more content…
This disease carrying tick is the blacklegged tick, also known as Ixodes scapularis. The tick species responsible for the dissemination of Lyme disease to the west of Lyme, Connecticut, is the western black legged tick (Ixodes pacificus) (Jacquot, Bisseux, Abrial, Marsot, Ferquel, Chapuis, & Bailly, 2014). The causative agent of this ailment is the bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi. Borrelia burgdorferi is a spirochete that is roughly 20-30mm in length and .2-.3mm in width. It uses an axial filament, also known as an endoflagella, for movement in a corkscrew manner. The cell walls of the bacteria create an inflammatory reaction in the skin, creating and expanding a rash. The immune response of the living host is originally repressed, permitting reproduction of the spirochete (Jacquot, et al., 2014). It next enters the blood and is dispersed to all parts of the body. A few weeks later, an extreme immune response takes place, making it very hard to recover B. burgdorferi from the bloodstream and bodily …show more content…
The area of the bite may be categorized by a skin rash called erythema migrans. The rash may form as a reddish spot or bump at the site of the bite. Second stage symptoms normally occur after the appearance of erythema migrans and encompass the cardiovascular and the nervous systems (Leker & Cohn, 2017). Irregular heartbeats, leading to dizzy spells or fainting are common alongside severe headaches, pain when moving the eyes, difficulty concentrating, emotional instability, fatigue, and impairment of the nerves of the legs or arms. Symptoms described in late stages of Lyme disease are arthritis, manifest as joint pain, swelling, and tenderness, usually of a large joint such as the knee. Chronic nervous system damage such as paralysis and depression can also occur if left untreated (Hanincová, Kurtenbach, Diuk-Wasser, Brei, & Fish, 2006). Unfortunately, these indicators cultivate in more than half of untreated cases in the United

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