Borrelia burgdorferi

Characteristics wise, Borrelia burgdorferi has a quite unique structure and set of adaptations that allows the bacterium to thrive on its host. Borrelia burgdorferi is known as a Gram negative spirochete, meaning the bacterium consists of a double membrane and is helically shaped (1). One of the membranes is an inner membrane and the other membrane is the outer membrane, also consisting of a protoplasm that is generally cylindrical and long. The most unique feature of the Borrelia burgdorferi is its ability to travel easily through its host’s fluids and tissues by using their highly adaptive flagella (2). The flagella in most spirochetes is found in the periplasm between the diderm membranes. It has a similar metabolic genome to most parasites,…

Lyme disease is found worldwide and the most commonly reported vector-borne disease in North America and Europe. The disease is transmitted by the bite of a deer tick (Ixodes Scapularis) harboring bacteria named Borrelia burgdorferii (b. burgdorferi) in North America and Borrelia afzelii and Borrelia garinii in Europe and Asia. The first documentation of the disease occurred in 1883 when Dr. Alfred Buchwald treated a German patient with erythema migrans; A bulls-eye pattern rash that occurs in…

A pathogen is simply a microorganism that causes disease. Lyme Disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is carried by ticks, and “as a result of a complicated sequence of events, people have become frequent accidental hosts for ticks and the disease agents they carry”. This connection is present because of the interaction between plant and animal species, or furthermore, the ecology of ecosystems, where both ticks and humans are present [Source: Ostfeld]. Symptoms of being…

admitted to a Michigan emergency room complaining of pain and numbness in the left hand and arm and pain in the upper back and neck, which had persisted for 10 days. The back pain had improved after chiropractic intervention, but the numbness was getting progressively worse. The right arm showed normal mobility, but the patient was unable to lift the left arm even a couple of inches. A CBC and routine chemistry panel were performed and were normal other than an elevated WBC count (15,300/μl) and…

Lyme disease is a type of bacterial infection. People who live in wooded areas tend to get the disease more often because the infection is transmitted by ticks. The tick must bite a person and be attached for at least 36-48 hours in order to transmit the infection. The tick releases a bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. The bacterium will enter through the skin and eventually enter your blood stream causing various symptoms. In the early stages of the disease a person may experience a rash…

Lyme Disease Education There are many diseases in the world such as influenza, rubella and lice. There is one particular disease that will be discussed in depth in this report called Lyme disease. This report will further explain the details of the disease and public health strategies. Ticks Lyme disease is a disease you may get if a tick bites you. Lyme disease is caused by bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. The bacteria is corkscrew-shaped. Ixodes ticks which are also know as…

During the warmer months, talk of Lymes disease always surfaces. People and their pets are out and about more, so it makes sense that the chances of contracting the disease is more likely. But is it? According to the Center for Disease Control, about 300,000 are diagnosed with Lyme disease in the US every year. Seems like the odds are pretty good that someone you know will get Lyme disease. What exactly is Lyme disease? It is a bacterial infection transmitted by Ixodes ticks. These ticks are…

Lyme disease, a deer tick-borne infection provoked by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, was first recorded in medical literature in 1883. Although the disease has been prevalent for centuries, its severity was only realized in 1975, when an outbreak of individuals suffered juvenile arthritis and rashes on their body. Transferred through the bite of an infected tick, the infection can spread through the joints, the bloodstream, the heart, and the nervous system if not properly treated. Lyme…

Trapping Protocol Since the primary vector for the new, unknown pathogen for this medical outbreak are ticks, there are two primary choices of methods to utilize in order to trap and study the tick specimens from different habitats (Ginsberg and Ewing 1988). One type of trapping methods to use is the dry ice baited tick trap. This method can be accomplished by inserting dry ice into a container that has a slight opening to allow the carbon dioxide gas to exit, and the arthropods will be…

The Hepatozoon canis is a protozoan that inhabits the peripheral blood of domestic dogs. The natural host is a tick, Amblyomma maculatum. It reaches its sexual maturity in this tick. The tick obtains gametocytes from the neutrophils or monocytes in the peripheral blood of a dog. The gametocytes the come together to form an ookinete. The ookinete then go into the stomach of the tick and become an oocyst. Several Sporocysts form inside of an oocyst and these sporocysts contain 12-24 sporozoites.…