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Lyme Disease
About Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted through the bite of infected Ixodes ticks. The disease was first identified in 1975 in Lyme, Connecticut, after a cluster of children developed juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. Willy Burgdorfer identified the causative bacterium in 1982. Lyme is the most common vector borne disease in the US, with CDC estimates of roughly 476,000 people diagnosed and treated each year. Early symptoms include a characteristic bulls eye rash erythema migrans, fever, and fatigue. If untreated, Lyme can cause arthritis, neurological complications, and cardiac problems. Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics prescribed by clinicians, and early treatment is generally more successful. A Lyme vaccine called LYMErix was licensed in 1998 but withdrawn in 2002 due to low demand and litigation. A new Lyme vaccine candidate VLA15, developed by Valneva and Pfizer, is in Phase 3 trials. Climate change is expanding the range of Ixodes ticks. Chronic Lyme disease, also called post treatment Lyme disease syndrome, remains controversial.
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