Borrelia fass
In , a mysterious illness causing arthritis in children showed up in Lyme, Connecticut and adjacent communities in the United States. It might have flown under the radar if not for one significant detail: A cluster of people 39 children and 12 adults , all bitten by ticks, also suddenly became ill simultaneously. Incidentally, it was at a time when more and more people were moving out of cities and into the suburbs to build homes in the tick-filled wooded countryside.
The illness, characterized by arthritis and an unusual rash around the tick bite, was first thought to originate from a viral agent. Willy Burgdorfer noticed that the symptoms of this new illness had striking similarities to a tick-borne condition long recognized in Europe called erythema migrans EM , named for the associated rash migrating from a tick bite. Burgdorfer and his colleagues isolated the microbial culprit, a corkscrew-like organism called a spirochete , from the blood of the victims, and a new pathogen rose to the forefront.
The microbe was named Borrelia burgdorferi after Dr. Burgdorfer , and the illness was aptly termed Lyme disease after its place of origin. Once people became aware of the new microbe and the illness it caused, cases started popping up all over New England and beyond. Lyme disease seemed to be the newest plague. In actuality, however, for more than years, physicians in both North America and Europe had long-recorded illness associated with a migrating rash surrounding tick bites.
But because they lacked a Lyme disease vaccine and effective treatment options, and because the illness was debilitating but not life-threatening, tick-borne diseases never garnered much attention. Unfortunately, not much has changed since then in the medical community. Though Lyme is the most common vector-borne disease in the U. Thus, many doctors today turn a blind eye to it.
Understanding Borrelia: Symptoms, Testing & Treatment for the Primary Lyme Bacteria
At the heart of this dilemma is a fundamental lack of understanding of the true nature of Borrelia burgdorferi. What has changed, however, is public awareness. Many people not only know about Lyme disease, but there is more public interest in it than ever before. This is largely due to vigorous advocacy efforts of patients , organizations , and celebrities openly sharing their stories about navigating the illness.
Borrelia burgdorferi is a stealth microbe that insidiously makes people chronically miserable , often for a lifetime. People no longer accept that they have to live with a chronic debilitating illness — rightfully, they want solutions. Lyme disease symptoms will differ from one person to another.
Some people may hardly experience any symptoms, while others become severely ill or have persistent, debilitating symptoms. Despite the politicized and controversial nature of Lyme, there is one thing nearly everyone can agree on: The earlier you catch the illness, the better the chances for a successful outcome. If it goes untreated due to such factors as misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, you could be in for an uphill battle to regain your health.
Note: A high fever and swollen lymph nodes generally indicate a coinfection with another microbe is present as well. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it probably is a duck.
Understanding Borrelia: Symptoms, Testing & Treatment for the
However, even this type of diagnosis is far from absolute. Chronic Lyme disease is rarely fatal, but it can make you miserable for a lifetime. Typically, people with chronic Lyme disease look normal on the outside. This results in a broad spectrum of seemingly unrelated symptoms. When Lyme disease becomes late-stage, persistent, or chronic, a different set of symptoms may emerge from the initial onset of the infection.
Borrelia burgdorferi - Wikipedia
These symptoms can include:. In symptomatic chronic Lyme disease, the immune system and the microbes reach a standoff. If the balance is tipped more in favor of the immune system, symptoms are less. If the balance is tipped more in favor of the microbe, symptoms will be greater.